Kishanganga: Names of umpires rejected

With the Foreign Ministers of India and Pakistan failing to make any headway in talks,the two sides on Friday rejected the names suggested for three neutral umpires by either side to resolve the dispute between them over the 330 MW Kishanganga hydel project in Jammu and Kashmir.

This paves the way for international involvement in the appointment of the three neutral umpires —chairman,a legal expert and a technical expert—to the International Court of Arbitration for resolving the Kishanganga dispute. Both countries have already nominated two arbitrators each for the Arbitration Bench.

While the names for the neutral umpires were exchanged during a meeting in Islamabad on Tuesday,both sides are likely to hold discussions on the next step in New Delhi by the end of July. With July 16 deadline for finalising the three neutral umpires by mutual consent coming to an end on Friday,the neutral umpires would now be finalised through a draw of lots prescribed in Annexure G that deals with the procedure for setting up a court of arbitration under the Indus Water Treaty,1960.