ISLAMABAD: The Sindh Minister for Irrigation, Sohail Anwar Sial, claimed that he was served a notice by the National Accountability Bureau after he raised the issue of water shortages in the province.
Sial, a former provincial home minister, was addressing a press conference here Thursday after attending a meeting with the prime minister on water issue. The minister alleged that the NAB issued a notice against him when he was attending a meeting with the prime minister on the water shortages issue. The Sindh's minister for irrigation said that he has asked the chairman NAB to direct DG NAB Sukkur that the case against him is false and concocted.
He said the Chief Minister of Khyber Pukhtunkhwa was present in the meeting with the prime minister today but Balochistan was not represented there. He said no final decision could be taken in the meeting with the prime minister. He mentioned raising the issue of IRSA chairman's offensive attitude towards the authority member of Sindh. Sial said Sindh is regularly meted out injustices and is being denied its rightful share of water under the Water Accord, and added that the provincial government is only demanding its rightful share. He charged the IRSA with supporting Punjab and added the PTI government is abusing Sindh while collaborating with IRSA.
He said Sindh is suffering from irrigation water shortages for the last many days. He said water was released for Punjab from the the Taunsa-Panjnad (TP) link canal on May 24th at the behest of the chairman Standing Committee for Agriculture, Nawab Yousuf Talpur who denies it as his doing. The water release from the TP Canal is depriving the southern province of its right share of irrigation water. He said despite protests by Sindh, the IRSA member from Punjab refused to shut down the TP canal. The Sindh’s irrigation minister said that farmers are in distress since cotton cultivation started after April 20. Sindh needs water now but the province is being denied its full share. Rejecting the notion of turning the water shortage issue into a political issue, Sohail Anwar Sial said it was a matter of provincial rights and we are only demanding our rightful share. He demanded water distribution in accordance with the Water Accord and charged Punjab with stealing Sindh’s water share in connivance with IRSA. The minister said Sindh contributes 23% to country’s GDP through agriculture. He said the Sindh Assembly has passed a resolution to remove the chairman of IRSA who is also the Punjab’s member to IRSA.
The provincial minister said he would brief the Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah as well as the party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari about the deliberations of the meeting with the prime minister.
Reacting to allegations by the Sindh’s Minister for Irrigation, Sohail Anwar Sial, the NAB termed them as baseless, unfounded, contrary to the facts and concocted. In a statement, the NAB spokesman said that the anti graft organisation had started inquiry of assets beyond means against Irrigation Minister Sindh Sohail Anwar Sial in 2018, which was upgraded into investigation in Jan 2021 after evaluating concrete evidence, authentic documents and in the light of statements of witnesses.The NAB spokesman said the investigations into the assets beyond means case involving billion of rupees is continuing even right now. “And allegations that the investigations were started following the raising of water issue by Mr Sial was misleading, unfounded and distorted as the anti graft watch dog believes in discharging its duties in accordance with law of the land,” the NAB said.
The NAB Spokesman said that Irrigation Minister Sindh Sohail Anwar Sial is hereby advised not to waste his energies on sullying the NAB, but should put his energies together to defend his case.
