QUETA:
A high-level ministerial delegation from Balochistan successfully negotiated an agreement with Sindh authorities to address the province’s critical water shortage, offering a lifeline to thousands of desperate farming families.
In a pivotal meeting held in Karachi, both sides agreed on long-term cooperation and immediate increase in water supply to resolve the inter-provincial dispute.
Irrigation in Balochistan
Minister Mir Muhammad Sadiq Umrani, who led the visiting team along with provincial ministers Saleem Ahmed Khosa and Muhammad Khan Lehri, emphasized that the breakthrough is vital for regional stability.
“Our farmers are facing a catastrophic situation with their crops in danger,” Umrani said. “The leadership is fully aware of these concerns and we are firmly committed to ensuring that Balochistan receives its exact constitutional and agreed share of water without delay.”
Responding to the urgency, Sindh Irrigation Minister Jam Khan Shoro assured his counterparts that Sindh is fully on board to stabilize shared supply lines, despite facing its own regulatory hurdles at the federal level.
“We deeply understand the plight of the farming communities of Balochistan,” Shoro said. “Sindh is committed to cooperation and we will ensure that approximately 9,000 cusecs of water is maintained through the Pat Feeder Canal to protect these vital crops, true to the spirit of the 1991 Water Agreement.”
The deal comes at a time when Balochistan’s fields are parched and local farmers see their livelihoods disappear.
Across the Kirthar Canal command area, farming communities have been staging protests for weeks, warning that severe lack of irrigation has put standing crops in immediate danger of failing completely and threatening families with financial ruin.
According to a report published in The Express PAkGazette on July 5, the Balochistan government was considering legal action against the Sindh government for “unfair” distribution of canal water after repeated contacts with the Sindh chief minister and other authorities failed to ensure that the province received its approved share.
Pat Feeder Canal Superintendent Engineer Mudassar Khoso had said that although the Indus River System Authority (IRSA) had reported better water availability, the Sindh Irrigation Department was still providing Balochistan with 46% less water than its allocated share.
He said Balochistan was receiving only 0.365 million acre feet (MAF) of water against its allocated share of 0.678 MAF, leaving a shortfall of 0.310 MAF.
Khoso said in RD-109 that Balochistan needed 6,700 cusecs of water
but he received only 4,096 cusecs. Likewise, in RD-102 the province received only 1,050 cusecs compared to a demand of 2,400 cusecs.
He said he had earlier written to the relevant authorities requesting a review of water flows allocated to Balochistan, but received a response contrary to official procedures and administrative ethics.
