Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Sindh President Nisar Ahmad Khuhro today termed the denial of Sindh’s due water share, the release of water into the Jalalpur Canal, Taunsa-Panjnad (TP) Canal and Chashma-Jhelum Link Canal as unconstitutional, illegal and a violation of the 1991 Water Accord.
He also questioned the constitutional status of the Council of Common Interests (CCI) and demanded strict implementation of constitutional water agreements, according to the information by PPP Sindh President’s office.
Mr Khuhro said that Sindh was not being provided its rightful share of water under the 1991 Water Accord, resulting in severe water shortages in the province. He alleged that water allocated to Sindh was being diverted to the Taunsa-Panjnad and Chashma-Jhelum Link canals, to which Sindh had strongly objected. He said the Indus River System Authority (IRSA) had failed to ensure transparent and equitable distribution of water among the provinces, describing it as a failure of both IRSA and the federal government.
The PPP Sindh President said that the water is a national asset and that the Pakistan Peoples Party was actively struggling to protect it. He announced that protests would be held across Sindh on Friday to inform the nation and the international community that while India had unilaterally suspended the Indus Waters Treaty and was attempting to block the water of the Indus River, Sindh’s allocated share of water was simultaneously being diverted to the Taunsa-Panjnad and Chashma-Jhelum Link canals, which were allocated as flood canals. He alleged that this amounted to stealing Sindh’s water and said the province would never accept such actions or remain silent over the violation of its rights.
Khuhro said: “Sindh is the tail-end province and that international water law recognises the first right of tail-end users to water. This principle is also being violated.”
He further stated that releasing water into the Jalalpur Canal before a decision by the Council of Common Interests was unconstitutional and had raised serious questions about the constitutional status and authority of the CCI.
The PPP Sindh President said that Sindh’s objections to the Jalalpur Canal were currently pending before the CCI, which had yet to issue a decision. Therefore, he argued, authorities should have awaited the CCI’s ruling before releasing water into the canal. He urged the CCI to take notice of the matter.
Khuhro recalled that during his tenure as a member of the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC), he had successfully linked the Jalalpur Canal project to a decision by the CCI and secured the deferment of ECNEC’s decision on the matter. He said bypassing constitutional forums and releasing water into the canal on a testing basis was unconstitutional, while the federal government’s silence reflected its failure to uphold constitutional and legal obligations.
He described the diversion of Indus River water as an attack on Sindh’s rights and unity, adding that the PPP would raise its voice against what it called the theft of Sindh’s water at constitutional, legal and international forums. He warned that if the injustices against Sindh in water distribution continued, the party would expand the scope of its protests.
Khuhro said that constitutionally and legally, every province had the right to store its own allocated share of water. However, Sindh would never permit the storage of water belonging to another province.
He further stated that under Article 154(3) of the Constitution, the Council of Common Interests was required to meet at least once every three months. He criticised the federal government for failing to convene CCI meetings and demanded that an immediate meeting be called to ensure strict implementation of constitutional water agreements and to review the unjustified release of water into the Taunsa-Panjnad and Chashma-Jhelum Link canals.