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Vaishakh Krushna Trutiya, Kaliyug Varsha 5114
New Delhi : Citing the changing geography of Sir Creek, Pakistan has extended its claim to include the mouth of an adjoining creek on the Indian side known as the Pir Sanai creek. India has contested this, setting the stage for bilateral talks on the dispute on May 14.
Pakistan’s new claim was made at the last round of talks in May 2011. It is based on a 2007 joint survey that found that Sir Creek had moved nearly 1-1.5 km eastwards. The survey also found that an unidentified land mass that separated Pir Sanai from Sir Creek — marked in old maps — had disappeared over the years.
As a result, the mouths of Sir Creek and Pir Sanai have “almost merged”, allowing Pakistan to extend its claim line further east and closer to the Pir Sanai creek.
Due to the suspension of dialogue following the 26/11 attacks, last year’s talks had been the first conversation after the survey. New Delhi had immediately contested Pakistan’s claim, pointing out that Islamabad’s claim would effectively block access to Pir Sanai creek for Indian boats. The creek is important for India, with its naval assets also using the channel frequently.
The Pakistani delegation suggested a mechanism by which their authorities would allow Indian boats to move in and out of the creek. An irked India reaffirmed its position that the dividing line would have to be the middle of the channel and not the eastern bank of Sir Creek plus 2 nautical miles, as claimed by Pakistan.
The survey, sources said, also established that Sir Creek was a navigable channel and so the Indian side demanded that the internationally accepted “Thalweg principle” apply. This essentially means that if a water body is navigable and falls between two countries, the boundary is defined by the Thalweg of the channel — or the line joining the deepest points in the stream, which is usually closer to the middle of the channel.
The Pakistani argument is that the survey was meant to only check the orientation of the creek and had nothing to do with the navigability of the channel.
At the same time, New Delhi believes that Islamabad will eventually take a political call and accept the centre of the channel as the boundary. It is learnt that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh identified Sir Creek resolution as “doable” during his conversation with Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari last month in Delhi.
Source : Indian Express
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Pakistan’s new claim was made at the last round of talks in May 2011. It is based on a 2007 joint survey that found that Sir Creek had moved nearly 1-1.5 km eastwards. The survey also found that an unidentified land mass that separated Pir Sanai from Sir Creek — marked in old maps — had disappeared over the years.
As a result, the mouths of Sir Creek and Pir Sanai have “almost merged”, allowing Pakistan to extend its claim line further east and closer to the Pir Sanai creek.
Due to the suspension of dialogue following the 26/11 attacks, last year’s talks had been the first conversation after the survey. New Delhi had immediately contested Pakistan’s claim, pointing out that Islamabad’s claim would effectively block access to Pir Sanai creek for Indian boats. The creek is important for India, with its naval assets also using the channel frequently.
The Pakistani delegation suggested a mechanism by which their authorities would allow Indian boats to move in and out of the creek. An irked India reaffirmed its position that the dividing line would have to be the middle of the channel and not the eastern bank of Sir Creek plus 2 nautical miles, as claimed by Pakistan.
The survey, sources said, also established that Sir Creek was a navigable channel and so the Indian side demanded that the internationally accepted “Thalweg principle” apply. This essentially means that if a water body is navigable and falls between two countries, the boundary is defined by the Thalweg of the channel — or the line joining the deepest points in the stream, which is usually closer to the middle of the channel.
The Pakistani argument is that the survey was meant to only check the orientation of the creek and had nothing to do with the navigability of the channel.
At the same time, New Delhi believes that Islamabad will eventually take a political call and accept the centre of the channel as the boundary. It is learnt that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh identified Sir Creek resolution as “doable” during his conversation with Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari last month in Delhi.
Source : Indian Express
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10 May 2012, 16:37