ISLAMABAD, Dec 15: In the middle of a high-profile case involving India (over the construction of Kishanganga hydropower project) pending before the International Court of Arbitration (COA), the government on Wednesday removed its Permanent Indus Water Commissioner, Jamaat Ali Shah. Sources told that the ministry of water and power was unaware of the decision as it had not moved any summary for Mr Shah's removal. The ministry got to know of the decision at the last moment.

A ministry official said that Mr Shah was told on telephone in Lahore to hand over charge to his deputy, Sheraz Jamil Memon, and report to the Establishment Division.

Mr Memon will work as Pakistan's commissioner at the (Pak-India) Permanent Indus Commission. He said the commissioner's post was of a permanent nature and should have fallen vacant on superannuation of Mr Shah next year.

“There are no charges against me. The government has the discretion to replace me like any other civil servant,” Jamaat Ali Shah told Dawn on telephone.

He said he had another year to reach the age of superannuation, but declined to comment why he had been removed unceremoniously at a time when the International Court of Arbitration was about to take up Pakistan's case against India over construction of Kishanganga Hydropower project on river Neelum in violation of the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty.

Sources in the water and power ministry said the development took place in the background of an ongoing discord between Mr Shah and Prime Minister's Adviser on Agriculture and Water Resources, Kamal Majidullah, over selection of a panel of lawyers and Pakistans lead jurist to defend Islamabads case before the court.

They said Mr Majidullah had been seeking removal of Mr Shah for his insistence on continuing with the services of James Crawford as lead jurist and a panel of lawyers who had pleaded Pakistans case before a neutral expert on Baglihar Hydropower project, built by India on Chenab in violation of the 1960 waters treaty.

Kamal Majidullah had suggested Professor Kaiyan Kaikobad as the lead jurist, but he died before a decision could be taken.

Because of overwhelming support from various stakeholders, the government finally decided in favour of James Crawford to plead Pakistans case on Kishanganga, but relieved other lawyers.

Mr Majidulalh and deputy attorney general K. K. Agha are now leading the government team.

Mr Majidullah did not reply to telephone calls and text messages.

Pakistan and India have agreed on the selection of two arbitrators each for the seven-member court of arbitration, but have failed so far to agree on the appointment of three arbitrators belonging to engineering and law to complete the adjudication forum for more than seven months now.

Pakistan had formally sought constitution of a COA in May this year after having exhausted all bilateral avenues with India at permanent Indus commission and political levels to address its objections over the controversial construction of a 330-mw storage project through diversion of Neelum river.

Mr Shah had asked the government in October last year to immediately take up its case before the COA.

Under the treaty, the three independent arbitrators must be experts in water disputes, engineering and law. They should be members of either the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the World Bank or the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (US). In case of a disagreement on names, the three independent members are to be selected through a secret draw – a process which is still to be completed.

Pakistan has already nominated Bruno Simma, a German jurist currently working with the ICJ, and Jan Paulson, a Norwegian from an international law firm as its arbitrators.

India has nominated Peter Tomka, a Slovak national currently working as vice-president of the International Court of Justice, and Lucius Caflish, a professor at the Graduate Institute of International Studies, Geneva.

“The time is of real essence and any delay will help only India,” an official of the water and power ministry said. Pakistan is opposed to the Kishanganga project because its diversion will reduce by 16 per cent the power generation capacity of the 969-MW Neelum-Jhelum power project on the same river downstream Muzaffarabad in Azad Kashmir. The project will cause a loss of energy worth Rs6 billion every year.

Moreover, the diversion will reduce river flows near the Line of Control, on the Pakistan side, for at least six months and cause an irreparable loss to the environment, particularly the Musk Deer Gurez Park – a vast grassland in AJK near the LOC – and deprive the Neelum valley of tourism.

Overall, about 200 kilometres of river bed in Azad Kashmir will be affected by the Kishanganga project. The river will turn dry over 40kms, a negation of international environmental laws. Under the law, at least 70 per cent of river flows are to be protected in case any project is taken in hand.

Pakistan has also objected to the design of the Kishanganga project as it envisaged drawdown flushing, which is against the spirit of the 1960 treaty. The design will arm India with the power to cause floods and water scarcity on the Pakistani side.