APC unanimously rejects federal govt’s plan to build new canals on Indus, amend Irsa Act

All all-parties conference hosted by the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl on Saturday unanimously demanded that the government should refrain from acting on its plans to amend the Irsa Act and build new canals to draw additional water from the Indus River to protect the legitimate water rights of the residents of Sindh.

The APC was attended by Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah, leaders of the Pakistan Peoples Party, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan, Qaumi Awami Tehreek, Jaey Sindh Quami Mahaz, Muhajir Qaumi Movement, Awami National Party, and Jamiat Ulema-e-Pakistan.

Speaking on the occasion, Sindh JUI-F General Secretary Rashid Mahmood Soomro told the audience that his political party would oppose the government’s plan to build more canals on the Indus River.

He said that his party had raised a unanimous voice for the legitimate rights of the people of Sindh while leaving aside the political differences.

Soomro was of the view that all the concerned quarters should adopt a unanimous stand on issues related to the people of Sindh, their land, farming, and livelihoods.

He said the APC had unanimously rejected the proposed government plan to build additional canals on the Indus River. He said the government should immediately halt its plan to build new canals and amend the Indus River System Authority Act.

The JUI-F leader feared that hundreds of thousands of acres of farmlands in Sindh would be rendered barren if the government went ahead with its plan for building new canals.

He opined that a few companies associated with corporate farming would be the prime beneficiaries of the plan to build new canals, whereas this anti-people scheme would render jobless a massive number of people associated with the agricultural economy in Sindh.

A joint communique issued after the APC said the government’s plan to build new canals and amend the Irsa Act would negate the Constitution of Pakistan and the human rights charter. It mentioned that a few companies associated with corporate farming would be strengthened in the country at the cost of weakening the provinces.

It added that the farmers in Sindh hadn’t been getting their due share in river water as per the 1991 Water Apportionment Accord. The communique said that resultantly several districts in Sindh including Karachi had been facing water shortages.

It said Islamic scholars associated with the JUI-F would also issue a unanimous religious decree on this issue after consulting leaders associated with all schools of thought. It called upon the political parties having representation in the elected legislatures to adopt resolutions in the assembles against amending the Irsa Act and building new canals.

The communique announced that a democratic movement would later be launched to resist the government’s plan to usurp the water rights of the people of Sindh if these anti-Sindh schemes weren’t halted by the authorities.