HYDERABAD: The Indus River System Authority (Irsa) has not appointed any Sindh-domiciled federal member for last 15 years and instead given the seat to Punjab-domiciled officers in violation of relevant law, which makes appointment of federal member from Sindh mandatory.

Sindh’s Bashir Ahmed Dahar was the last federal member on Irsa, who served three-year term from October 2007 to October 2010 under clause-c of the executive order issued by Musharraf regime on July 10, 2000 which made it mandatory to appoint Irsa federal member from Sindh. Under clause-b of the same order, Irsa headquarters were shifted from Lahore to Islamabad.

The July 10, 2000, order issued by Chief Executive Secretariat read: “All members of Irsa should be qualified engineers instead of government officials; shifting of Irsa headquarters from Lahore to Islamabad to be done immediately; federal member Irsa should be from Sindh”.

“This order has been protected under Article 270-AA of Constitution which protects chief executive’s order(s) also,” said Barrister Zamir Ghumro, a PPP senator.

The May 12, 2017 SHC ruling says the authority is bound by law to take its federal member from Sindh

Under clause-c of the executive order, Nasar Ali Rajput, Fazalur Rehman Siddiqui, Bashir Dahar and Dr Illahi Bux Shaikh (acting member) were appointed as “federal member Irsa from Sindh”.

Mohammad Ehsan Leghari, who wrote a two-page dissenting note on Water Availability Certificate (WAC) Irsa issued recently for Cholistan Canal, is current member of Sindh in Irsa and Punjab-domiciled Asjad Imtiaz Ali is ‘federal member’ serving his third three-year tenure in a row.

“Federal government appoints its member with the approval of competent authority on a summary moved by Ministry of Water Resources,” said a source in Irsa. In absence of a regular member, Chief Engineer Adviser or Chairman Federal Flood Commission (FFC) became ‘federal member’ under Irsa Act 1992, he added.

After Dahar’s retirement as regular federal member from Sindh, Punjab-domiciled Zarar Aslam, Asjad Imtiaz Ali and Ahmed Kamal served as ad hoc federal member Irsa. Asjad Imtiaz was notified as federal member in the absence of a regular member under the Irsa Act 1992.

Mr Ali was notified as regular federal member on Oct 25, 2019 and completed the three- years tenure on Oct 24, 2022. He will hold the position till Dec 7 as he had been reappointed on Dec 8, 2022. Earlier, he had served as federal member from Jan 24, 2011 to Sept 29, 2017 initially for a period of 7.5 years.

The issue came to light in 2013 when Ghulam Abbas Leghari, a former Sindh irrigation expert, took the matter to Sindh High Court to seek his nomination as ‘federal member’, arguing that since his name was approved for nomination as federal member Irsa from Sindh, a notification be issued in this regard.

He argued that Sindh government had forwarded two names for appointment as “federal member” and “member Irsa Sindh” on April 18, 2011, after Dahar’s term came to an end. Then Sindh chief minister wrote a letter to prime minister on May 15, 2011, seeking in van his intervention in this regard.

Leghari had filed the petition after Ministry of Water Resources wrote a letter to provinces on Nov 26, 2013, calling for nomination of a suitable engineer for the post of federal member Irsa.

Sindh’s names not notified

The Sindh government’s summary for Leghari’s nomination had reached water & power ministry but some elements within Irsa did not allow it to be processed by the ministry, disclosed sources.

According to Leghari’s case, Sindh CM had sent the summary on Sept 23, 2013, which recommended names of Khalid Hyder Memon and Zaheer Hyder Shah (both former irrigation secretaries) for ‘federal member Irsa’. These officers confirmed to Dawn on Monday none of them was notified by Irsa.

Sindh irrigation minister and secretary irrigation did not reply when asked whether Sindh government discontinued the practice of recommending names for ‘federal member Irsa’ after Sept 23, 2013.

The SHC in its May 12, 2017 judgement authored by Justice Mohammad Iqbal Kalhoro ruled that the July 10, 2000 executive order was still in force protected under Article 270 AA(2) of Constitution and federal government was bound to observe policy enunciated therein in respect of nominating its nominee for Member Irsa from Sindh until the same was altered, superseded, repealed or amended as provided in the Article.

Justice Kalhoro, however, did not agree with the petitioner’s claim that he had a right to be appointed as federal member Irsa after approval of his name by Sindh government.

According to Mr Ghumro, the federal government challenged the SHC verdict in Supreme Court where a two-member bench headed by Justice Maqbool Baqar dismissed it on Nov 10, 2021, which has attained finality now.

The July 10, 2000 executive order recognised that Irsa’s decision-making process affected Sindh negatively, said Mahmood Nawaz Shah, president of Sindh Abadgar Board.

Irsa takes decisions on the basis of majority vote, which often prove discriminatory against Sindh and lead to acrimony between upper and lower riparian. The issuance of WAC to Punjab government for Cholistan Canal on the basis of a split 4:1 vote is a case in point as it has added fuel to already simmering discord among provinces and mass agitation across Sindh.

Published in Dawn, April 8th, 2025