KARACHI, Dec 28: The Pakistan Peoples Party has strongly condemned the regime’s policies of allegedly forcing about 2.7 million people of the Indus delta regions of Sindh to migrate, and warned it of serious consequences for using strong arm tactics to prevent a seminar on water issues, which was planned in the federal capital on Wednesday.

“The rulers are behaving in the same manner as in the case of former East Pakistan,” it said, adding that by silencing the voice of dissent and not respecting the rights of smaller provinces, it would seriously undermine and threaten national integrity.

This act of the military regime of not allowing people to express their views on the issue in Islamabad had exposed its real intentions, making its promises of constitutional and other guarantees “a joke”, he said.

The Central Information Secretary of the PPP, Taj Haider, said that zero downstream Kotri flow had destroyed agriculture and fishing sectors in the delta zone while drinking water was no more available in the region.

He accused the Indus River System Authority (IRSA) of deceiving people and practically violating the 1991 Water Apportionment Accord as it substituted determination of minimum quantity of flow of water downstream Kotri with studying “intrusion of sea in the main channel only” in the terms of reference for appointment of consultants on the subject.

The Irsa, he alleged, had ignored sea erosion all along the coast, converting some two million acres of fertile land into barren region. He said the surface salinity had increased in Thatta, Badin and other districts of the province while underground water level had further gone down.

The PPP leader was taken aback by the stand of Irsa that 35 MAF water had flown downstream Kotri where it (Irsa) had been always been saying that there was shortage of 30 to 40 per cent of irrigation water. There had been occasions in recent years, he pointed out, when the Indus below Sukkur had gone completely dry.

He referred to the technical committee report, partially printed in Dawn and said that it had brought on record that the flows of the Western Rivers allocated to Pakistan were highly erratic.

The maximum flow of 186.79 MAF occurred in the year 1959-60 and the minimum of 97.17 MAF occurred in 2001-02. There was also seasonal variation in the flows. Major part of the flows (84 per cent) occurred in Kharif season (summer months) whereas the flows in the Rabi season (winter months) were much lower (about 16 per cent).

He said the pro-Kalabagh lobby was deliberately distorting facts, saying that according to the partially reported report of the technical committee, it had been simply stated by its seven members that the upper irrigation zone was entirely dependent on the flow supplies of Jhelum and Chenab rivers and Mangla storage, giving an incorrect impression that water from Jhelum and Chenab was inadequate to meet the requirement of these areas. However, figures about the quantity of river flows available in Jhelum and Chenab rivers had not been indicated.

“The Water Accord 1991 provides the province-wise and season-wise allocations and the 10 daily canals-wise allocations approved by the CCI, on all Pakistan basis,” he said quoting from the report.

Mr Haider was amazed at the argument that by propounding an idea of upper Indus link, it had been said that it would benefit Sindh’s canals.