Pakistan has decided to approach the World Bank to request the appointment of a neutral expert to resolve a dispute with India over the Kishanganga hydel project if bilateral efforts fail to settle the matter, a media report said.

After failing to resolve the dispute through the Indus Waters Commission, Pakistan’s federal government has directed the Foreign Office to initiate the process of requesting the appointment of a neutral expert as stipulated in the Indus Waters Treaty, The Daily Times newspaper quoted an official document as saying.

Under the treaty, the western tributaries of the Indus river were allocated to Pakistan though an article of the pact allows India to use the water of these tributaries for hydropower generation.

Official sources told the newspaper that the Pakistan government will try to solve the dispute bilaterally during secretary-level talks.

They said Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi had already said that the government of Pakistan will discuss the dispute over sharing of river waters with India. The Pakistan government is not anticipating “any leeway” from India.