Sindh protests to Irsa over opening of Taunsa Panjnad Link Canal

The Sindh government on Tuesday strongly protested to Irsa (Indus River System Authority) over the opening of the Taunsa Panjnad (TP) Link Canal and demanded its immediate closure.

Sindh Minister for Irrigation Jam Khan Shoro wrote a protest letter to Irsa, calling for the closure of the TP Link Canal. He stated that Sindh is already facing a 62% water shortage in the first ten days of April, while Punjab’s canals are enduring a 54% water shortage.

Shoro further said that opening the TP Link Canal would exacerbate the water shortage in Sindh. "There is no drinking water in Sindh. The TP Link must be closed immediately. Opening the TP Link Canal at this time is like rubbing salt into Sindh’s wounds," he said.

He added that a drought has already been declared in Pakistan, and opening the TP Link Canal during such a drought is an injustice to Sindh. The letter written to Irsa’s director (operation) reads, “I am directed to refer to the current situation of water availability and ongoing water regulation in the Indus Basin Irrigation System, and to state that, as of today, the TP Link is being operated with a discharge of 2,981 cusecs.

“It is important to emphasize that during the first ten-day period of April 2025, the actual river inflows in Indus at Tarbela and Kabul at Nowshera, which augment flows in the main Indus stem, are -21% and -23% respectively lesser than the minimum scenario adopted by IRSA for Kharif 2025. However, the inflow observed at Jhelum at Mangla has exceeded the minimum anticipated scenario by 20%. It is evident that water availability in J- C System is much more than Indus System during 1st ten daily of April 2025. Hence, releases downstream of Panjnad should be made in accordance with the observed river inflow pattern, rather than by initiating the operation of link canals, as doing so could rapidly reduce water availability for the lower riparian provinces.

“In addition to that, it is worth-mentioning here that during 1st ten daily of April 2025, Sindh has experienced 62% shortages w.r.t. Water Accord allocations and 55% w.r.t Actual Average System uses (1977-82), whereas Punjab has shared 54% shortages w.r.t Water Apportionment Accord and 52% shortages w.r.t Actual Average System uses (1977- 82). To balance the water account, there is a need to release more water to Sindh province during the remaining period of April as IAC has decided the share for the month of April only.

In view of above, it is requested that the transferring of water from Indus to JC system may be stopped and release downstream Panjnad may be made in order to distribute the water amongst the provinces in an equitable and judicious manner.”