Sindh accused of stealing Balochistan’s water

Provincial lawmakers criticise delimitation of constituencies by ECP

QUETTA:

Balochistan’s lawmakers accused Sindh of stealing the province's water share, blaming the Indus River System Authority (Irsa) on Friday for its failure in ensuring a fair distribution of water among the federating units.

Speaking on a point of order during a provincial assembly session, former senior provincial minister Mir Zahoor Buledi alleged that Sindh was stealing Balochistan’s water despite repeated complaints.

"Sindh continues to steal our water share", Buledi told the session, chaired by Deputy Speaker Sardar Babar Khan Musakhail. His views were endorsed by Balochistan Minister for Communications and Works (C&W) Sardar Abdul Rehman Khetran.

“Sindh and the federal government are stealing the water share of Balochistan,” Khetran said. "This has severely affected the farmers and growers in the green belt of the province," the minister added.

Lawmakers from both the treasury and opposition benches strongly condemned the continued theft. The house unanimously urged the Sindh government to take notice of this practice to address the grievances of the farmers of the province.

Balochistan has always accused Sindh of stealing its water share. The farmers in the Naseerabad and Jaffarabad districts have been protesting against this practice for the last few years.

During the session, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) member Mubeen Khilji drew the attention of the house towards the objection raised by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) towards the delimitation of constituencies.

Khilji said that the constituencies should have been formed on the basis of merit and not on anyone's personal wish. Malik Naeem Khan Baazi of the Awami National Party (ANP) said that Nohsar and Panjpai had been removed from his constituency.

The lawmakers criticised the recent delimitations in Balochistan and demanded of the ECP to review its decision in this regard to address the grievances of political parties.