A double Bench of the Sindh High Court (SHC) on April 6 stayed the water availability certificate issued by the Indus River System Authority (IRSA) for the construction of six canals in Cholistan and Thal. This pause by the court comes over a month after Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz and Pakistan Army Chief General Asim Munir had inaugurated the project in a grand ceremony. The Federal government has been given time up to April 18 to file its reply on the issue which has led to severe friction between Punjab and Sindh provinces.
Some days ago, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, head of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) had warned Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to desist from going ahead with the six canals project. He had said there was no question of PPP allowing the Federal government headed by Pakistan Muslim League-N to implement the project. This has been interpreted as a veiled threat of withdrawal of support from the Sharif government.
The high court issued the order on a petition by Qurban Maitlo, a grower, who had moved the SHC against the appointment of federal member of IRSA Asjad Imtiaz Ali. In his petition, he had contended that this appointment was made in clear violation of a policy decision as well as an earlier judgement of the SHC on the issue.
The secretaries of establishment and water resources divisions, IRSA chairman, secretary of the Sindh irrigation department and federal member of IRSA have been made respondents in the case. Petitioner Qurban Ali Maitlo has submitted that he was a grower in the lowest riparian area and has a vested interest in ensuring the fundamental rights enshrined in the Constitution, according to Daily Times.
IRSA composition termed illegal
Representing the petitioner, Barrister Zamir Ghumro argued that IRSA’s composition was “illegal without its federal member being appointed from Sindh’’ and it could not issue the water availability certificate for the construction of Cholistan and Thal phase II canals. The proposed six canals project has led Sindh to directly challenge the Pakistan Army Chief General Asim Munir who is keen on the canals being completed.
The fact is that Cholistan is an area where lots of senior Army officers have large patches of land gifted by the Pakistani government. As such, successive Army chiefs have tried to promote the diversion of waters to Cholistan and other areas at the cost of farmers of lower riparian Sindh. However, Sindh has stoutly resisted all such efforts, forcing the cancellation of Kalabagh dam promoted by the Punjab and the Federal governments.
The six canals issue is becoming as serious as the Kalabagh dam issue which Bilawal referred to in his speech some days ago. He reminded his audience, and PM Sharif, that his mother, late Benazir Bhutto, had opposed the Kalabagh dam even though she was in opposition when the idea for the dam was floated. He wanted to warn PM Sharif that his minority government was dependent on PPP support and could not sustain itself in power without that.
Buoyed by the interim directions of the court, Sindh Irrigation Minister Jam Khan Shoro called the court’s order historic. He reiterated the provincial government’s demand to appoint a proper Sindh representative to IRSA and cancel the canal projects. The canal issue has sparked strong political reactions in Sindh, where local leaders argue that the province’s rights over water are being bypassed.
IRSA in a bind
IRSA is the apex regulatory body of Pakistan and approved the water supply to the Cholistan Canal System project. It had also issued a water availability certificate to the Punjab government despite opposition from Sindh and this has now soured the relations between the two governments. The project of six canals was also opposed openly by President Asif Ali Zardari in his speech to a joint session of Parliament.
A couple of days ago, Punjab Information Minister Azma Bukhari had claimed that President Zardari was playing politics on the issue as he had approved the six canals project earlier. This claim was contested by a minister from Sindh who alleged that Ms Bokhari knew little about the constitutional position. This had led to a lot of bad blood between PML-N and PPP over the past few months.
Under the IRSS approval, Punjab was allowed to construct the Cholistan Canal project, branching from the Sutlej River at Sulemanki Headworks, according to IRSA, providing access to 450,000 acre-feet of water, which has been termed “an unfair move” for Sindh. The certificate, dated January 25, was challenged by the petitioner’s lawyer, who argued that the formation of IRSA itself was illegal.
The lawyer further stated that no member from Sindh had been appointed to IRSA, making the body’s decisions and actions unlawful. During the hearing, the federal government requested the court to grant time to file its reply. At this, the court directed the government to submit a detailed response by April 18.
The Cholistan Canal project has become a flashpoint with the Centre and Punjab governments on one side and the Sindh government on the other. Some analysts have gone to the extent of saying that the Sharif government will fall unless it stopped the six canals project. That is a dire warning as it has barely completed a year in the office. The analysts have said that just like all the past 29 Prime Ministers fell by the wayside, Shehbaz Sharif will also not be able to complete a full five-year tenure.
Sindh steadfast on opposing canals
The canals project has been categorically rejected by the PPP and other nationalist parties of Sindh. It bears mention here that Sindh has been ruled for last over 15 years by the PPP and the party cannot afford to compromise what are deemed and projected as Sindh’s interests.
On the canals project, almost all political and religious parties, nationalist groups and civil society organisations are unanimous. They are of the view that come what may, they will not allow canals project to be built, and staged widespread rallies across Sindh against the controversial plan.
The Bilawal Bhutto Zardari-led party has time and again expressed reservations over the project, with President Asif Ali Zardari cautioning the government that some of its unilateral policies are causing “grave strain” on the federation. His barely concealed words of caution to the Sharif government have caused a huge ripple effect all over Sindh, and in national politics.
Meanwhile, his son Bilawal has urged PM Shehbaz Sharif to roll back the controversial canals project, or else be ready to face withdrawal of PPP support to his government. As if on cue, Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah has said time and again that the federal government’s plan will not see execution as long as PPP existed.
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