PESHAWAR: Qaumi Watan Party has opposed the proposed amendments to the Indus River System Authority Act, 1992, and warned to resist the move.

In a statement issued here on Wednesday, QWP provincial chairman Sikandar Hayat Khan Sherpao said that his party would not compromise on the provincial rights and would resist any bid to amend the law.

He said the Indus River System Authority (Irsa) was established to monitor the distribution of water from the Indus River among the federating units.

Commenting on the appointment of a grade-22 officer as the Irsa chairman, Sikandar said this would complicate the issue as Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was already not getting its due share of water. He said the government should avoid creating unrest among the federating units by depriving them of their due constitutional rights.

Sikandar Sherpao said QWP would continue its struggle to get the rights of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa enshrined in the 1973 Constitution.

The QWP leader said true representatives of Pakhtuns were made to lose the recent general election in order to keep them out of the parliament under a conspiracy. “We will not rest until the province gets its due rights,” he vowed, adding the QWP leadership would raise its voice against the injustices being meted out to the province. He said the QWP would not let the Pakhtuns down and would continue to raise voice for their rights.

Sikandar Sherpao said the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly should introduce a resolution to reject the proposed changes to the Irsa Act like the Sindh Assembly.

However, he said Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf leaders and its provincial government were least bothered to pay any attention to the issues of the province as they were obsessed with staging protests.

The QWP leader said that KP had been pushed to the brink of default due to the ill-conceived policies of the government.

Published in Dawn, September 12th, 2024