— Rana Sanaullah, Shajeel Memon speak on phone and agree to resolve the matter through dialogue
— IRSA enhances provincial water quota from reservoirs following telephonic conversation
ISLAMABAD: Federal government and the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) have agreed to
resolve the canals issue through dialogue.
The development came after Prime Minister’s advisor Rana Sanaullah had a telephonic
conversation with Sindh’s senior minister Sharjeel Memon, during which both the leaders agreed to meet and discuss the issue.
Sanaullah told him that the federal government was ready to hold talks with Sindh. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and his elder brother former prime minister Nawaz Sharif have directed him that Sindh’s concerns be addressed, he added.
Memon said that the Sindh government has already presented its stance on every forum. The PPP and the people of Sindh have serious reservations regarding the controversial canals and that the PPP wanted a fair distribution of water in accordance with the 1991 Water Accord.
Meanwhile, Minister of State for Religious Affairs Kheel Das Kohistani said that the PPP’s concerns about the canals project would be addressed and that the federal government would not take any unilateral decisions.
He clarified that the canals project has not yet been approved by the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC). He said that some elements have been trying to create a rift between the PML-N and the PPP, but they would jointly foil such conspiracies.
IRSA enhances provincial water quota from reservoirs
Meanwhile, the Indus River System Authority (IRSA) has enhanced the provinces’ water quota by 16 per cent for irrigation after inflow of water from rain and rivers in reservoirs.
A spokesperson of the IRSA said that the water shortage of provinces has been decreased from 43 per cent to 27 per cent.
“Punjab being provided 64,800 cusecs water share, while Sindh being given 45,000 cusecs of water for irrigation,” the river authority official said.
“The river sending 500 cusecs water to Baluchistan, while 1900 cusecs to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa,” the spokesman added.
Amid a drought situation that has caused decrease in river water for irrigation, a row over construction of new canals on the Indus has further deepened the rift between Sindh’s PPP led government and the federal government, which have been the major stakeholders in the current political setup.
The federal and Sindh governments have agreed to hold talks on the six canals project on the Indus River, the bone of contention in the ongoing dispute, that has sparked popular protests across Sindh.
The development came after the first formal contact between the two governments, as Adviser to the Prime Minister Rana Sanaullah telephoned Sindh’s Senior Minister Sharjeel Inam Memon and said that the federal government was ready to engage Sindh over the matter.
