South Asia has great untapped hydroelectric potential therefore two big countries of South Asia especially India and Pakistan should jointly start projects to use this hydroelectric potential for bringing prosperity in the region. This was the crux of the conference on "Water as a platform for development" organised by Harvard University's South Asia Initiative (SAI) at Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS) on Friday evening.
Senior Advisor to Punjab chief minister, Sardar Zulfiaqr Ali Khan Khosa was the chief guest. John Briscoe, who is Professor of Environmental Engineering at Harvard University and directs the Harvard Water Security Initiative, also attended the conference.
Chairman Wapda, Shakeel Durrani, former Finance Minister, Sartaj Aziz, Secretary Agriculture Punjab, Arif Nadeem, Ahmed Rafay Alam and former member Wapda, Khalid Mohtadullah were panelists of the discussion.
The speakers said that Pakistan and India needed to forget the past and use water as a source of co-operation not conflict. Delivering a lecture on "Trans-boundary waters in South Asia: Co-operation or Conflict" Professor Briscoe said that in the upcoming next week Pakistan-India ministerial level talks both sides should discuss the prospects of future co-operation between the two countries on the use of water.