HYDERABAD: Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah has said Sindh is endeavouring to meet Balochistan’s water requirement from Sukkur Barrage, maintaining that shortages have to be shared equally by all. He said that the barrage could, however, not afford any threat to its operations. “Its upkeep is supreme,” he added.

Mr Shah was speaking to the media during his brief visit to Hyderabad on Wednesday (Ashura day) to oversee security arrangements for the city’s central procession.

He was asked to comment on the alertness the Indus River System Authority (Irsa) had shown to seek Balochistan’s share of water in the wake of June 20 damage to barrage gates. It was pointed out that an Irsa delegation visited the barrage on July 8 to hold a meeting with officials and “whether Irsa shows this alertness to ensure Sindh’s water share as well?”

Mr Shah replied that Sindh was making all out efforts to meet Balochistan’s share of water from the barrage. “Balochistan is a small province and we [Sindh] take care of this province on our own,” he said.

He recalled that when he held the portfolio of irrigation minister in the past, he had told his Balochistan counterpart to bring his own chief engineer to Sukkur Barrage to work and see what are probabilities or not as far as water supplies to Balochistan was concerned.

Now, he said, incumbent Irrigation Minister Jam Khan Shoro met the Balochistan CM and other ministers and held out assurance that whatever was possible for the barrage authorities would be done to meet requirement of Balochistan’s share of water. “We can’t, however, afford any issue with Sukkur Barrage’s operations … we will do whatever is possible for us to meet Balochistan’s requirement [of water],” he said.

Alluding to three tier formula for interprovincial water distribution, Mr Shah said Irsa had on its own made a law to give exemptions to provinces in shortages. He claimed that Irsa had made this “strange law” which was in contravention of Water Apportionment Accord of 1991.

Proposal to ban PTI

In reply to a question, Murad Ali Shah said his party had already stated that it was not consulted regarding any proposal of banning Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI), and added that PPP had never been supportive of banning any political party. But, he said, PTI must look into its own conduct whether it was behaving like a political entity. “Mere bagging votes and winning seats don’t make any entity a political party,” he remarked.

He argued that one had to follow principles of politics and PTI had demonstrated its shortsightedness. “It is selfishness of its leader and the party itself that has brought it to this sorry pass,” he said, adding that if PTI’s conduct is proved like that of a political party, then such a ban should not be given effect.

Responding to a question about move to appoint ad hoc judges in Supreme Court, the chief minister avoided offering any comment, saying that the legal fraternity was looking into it.

Ashura security

Earlier, CM Shah met Anjuman-i-Hyderi President Nawaz Bhutto and General Secretary Raza Irani on Station Road, the main route of the central mourning procession of Ashura (10th Muharram). Anjuman-i-Hyderi, established in 1948, holds the permit for the central procession in the city.

He said he had visited Sukkur, Rohri, Jacobabad and Khairpur as well to oversee arrangements for Ashura. He stressed that the current wave of terrorism in the country must come to an end as soon as possible.

The CM visited the camp set up by PPP’s Hyderabad district chapter and also another camp set up by Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan MPAs. He met Muttahida MPA Rashid Khan and other lawmakers and leaders. Later, after visiting the police control room at the City police station, the CM left for Karachi.

At the control room, he told journalists that there was high alert in view of some incidents of terrorism in the country, especially in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

During his visit to Hyderabad, Sindh Home Minister Zia Lanjar, Irrigation Minister Jam Khan Shoro, Mayor Kashif Shoro, Deputy Mayor Saghir Qureshi, CM’s Special Assistant Abdul Jabbar Khan and others accompanied the chief minister.

Published in Dawn, July 19th, 2024