KARACHI: A day after the provincial cabinet expressed reservation over the appointment of the chairman of the Indus River System Authority (Irsa), Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah on Thursday declared that Sindh would not accept if the authority was brought under the federal control.

Talking to reporters on the premises of the Sindh Assembly after casting his vote in the Senate by-election, he said that Irsa had come into being through the 1991 Water Accord and the purpose was to create an autonomous authority so that the federal government could not influence its decisions.

He said that Irsa was a five-member body in which each province had one member with one representative from the federal government and the chairmanship rotated amongst the five members.

CM Shah said that during the caretaker government, an amendment was introduced in the Irsa Act under which a sixth member was inducted.

Says curbing street crime in Karachi and kidnapping cases in riverine areas are his top priorities

He added that the amendment should have been presented in the National Assembly and the Senate.

He recalled that water distribution was earlier done by the Water and Power Development Authority and after that Irsa was created to take water distribution out of Wapda and federal government’s control.

He said that Sindh had objection to the Water Accord of 1991, but instead of improving it, it had been made worse.

The CM said that at one time, it was also decided that the representative of the federation should be from Sindh and Balochistan, the two province which were at the tail end of the Indus.

Steps to improve security in province

CM Shah said that the provincial government was taking necessary measures to improve the security situation in the province by curbing street crime in the metropolis and kidnapping for ransom in the riverine area.

He said that he had given the maintenance of law and order as one of the top priorities of the provincial government.

To a question, he claimed that law and order had improved in the province after the elected government took over.

Referring to the relations of provinces with the Centre, he said that he believed that a chief minister should establish a friendly and cooperative working relationship with the federal government, regardless of the political party in power, which was important for addressing the issues faced by the people of the province. “This is what Mr Ali Amin Gandapur must follow for the interest of the people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa,” he advised.

To another question, the chief minister said that the Grand Democratic Alliance (GDA) had not fielded its candidates in all the constituencies in the province.

“In my constituency of Sehwan, my GDA opponent was unable to arrange polling agents at all polling stations, which was a similar situation wherever the GDA had fielded its candidates across the province,” he said.

When asked about the appointment of the new federal finance minister, CM Shah said that the country was currently going through a critical phase, and he believed that the new finance minister would be vital in steering the country out of its financial crisis.

To a question about fate of chairman of the Board of Intermediate Education Karachi (BIEK) who was convicted of harassment by ombudsman, he said that he held the portfolio of the University & Boards Department and was looking into the matter.

He said that he would resolve the issue in the interests of the educational board.

Published in Dawn, March 15th, 2024