ICA issues stay order, India stops work on Kishanganga Dam

WAPDA chairman says International Court of Arbitration has issued a stay order on the project.

ISLAMABAD: The International Court of Arbitration has issued a stay order on the construction of Kishanganga Dam on the Neelum River at Gurez, Express News reported on Thursday. Express News had earlier reported that the international court has ruled in the favour of Pakistan.

During a session of the Standing Committee on Water and Power, Chairman WAPDA Shakeel Durrani said that the court had issued a stay order on the project, adding that India had stopped construction work on the dam too.

He also informed the committee that Pakistan has begun work on the Neelum-Jhelum project and following the fund released by the government, instead of being completed in 2018, this project will be finished by 2016.

Durrani said that work on digging the tunnel will begin by August 7.

Earlier, upon approval of the then prime minister, Yousaf Raza Gilani, Pakistan had challenged the project in the ICA, following which the court had barred India from permanent constructions on the Kishanganga hydro-electricity project (KHEP) on the Neelum River in a short term order.