ISLAMABAD: The federal government on Friday appointed Engineer Sahibzada Muhammad Shabir as the member of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in the Indus River System Authority (Irsa) for three years.

On the notification of his appointment as a member, Mr Shabir immediately as­­sumed the charge of Irsa cha­irman for one year.

The federal governme­nt delayed the appoin­tment of Mr Shabir, who was nominated by KP as its me­­mber on Sept 10.

As a consequence, Muhammad Ayaz, the sec­retary of KP Irrigation Depart­m­ent, had assumed the role of the province’s member as well as the cha­i­r­man of the water regulator on October 18.

Position had been vacant since May 8

The position of KP’s Irsa member had been vacant since May 8 following the completion of the four-year term of Engineer Zahid Abbas.

Since then, the KP government failed to nominate his successor. Interest­in­gly, the provincial administration spent six months to appoint its previous member in May 2020.

Under Irsa’s regulati­o­­ns, the chairmanship rota­tes annually among four provincial members and a federal representative.

The rotation begins with Balochistan, follo­w­­ed by KP, Punjab, Sindh and the federal government.

The post of the chairman fell vacant on Oct 17 after the one-year term of Baloch­istan’s member, Abdul Hameed Mengal, ended.

Published in Dawn, November 2nd, 2024