Sindh Assembly demands Centre to induct its IRSA member from province

KARACHI: The Sindh Assembly on Tuesday unanimously passed a strong resolution protesting against the federal cabinet for appointing the Centre’s representative for Indus River System Authority (IRSA) from Punjab instead of Sindh, in violation of the settled norms.

The Sindh Assembly resolution which was also backed by the federal government allies from Muttahida Qaumi Movement Pakistan, and Grand Democratic Alliance and even the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, demanded the federal government to immediately withdraw its decision to offset the prevailing anxiety in the province. Sindh in the past had often raised the issue of denial of its water share. Since 1999, it had always been a settled tradition that the IRSA’s federal nominee was picked from the lower riparian province and that remained so even during Gen (retd) Musharraf’s martial law.

Water scarcity being a politically explosive issue for Sindh, the provincial assembly resolution demanded the federal government that its nominee for IRSA should belong to Sindh in line with the past practices and norms. The resolution pressed the federal government to rescind its decision and appoint its IRSA representative from Sindh to lay to rest the prevailing anxiety and uncertainty in the province.

Giving his policy statement on the issue before passage of the resolution, Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah said the federal cabinet in utter disregard of the Sindh Assembly resolution, took the controversial decision at a time when two federal ministers from Sindh were out of the country and three other Sindhi speaking ministers were absent from the cabinet’s meeting. Strongly condemning the move, the Sindh chief minister said it has happened for the first time since 1999 that the centre’s representative for IRSA belongs to Punjab. He appealed the lawmakers to unanimously pass the resolution against federal cabinet’s decision.

The “prime minister on one hand says that the interests of Sindh lay in his heart, but on the other he committed injustice against us,” he said. “I expect my MQM friends to ask their federal cabinet members as to why they didn’t protest against this injustice against Sindh. They shouldn’t have attended the federal cabinet’s meeting,” the chief minister said.

He expressed remorse that the federal ministers from Sindh did not advocate the issue in the federal cabinet. Later the resolution was unanimously passed by the house carried the signatures of the MPAs Ghanwer Ali Khan Isran of Pakistan Peoples Party, Kanwar Naveed Jameel of MQM and Haleem Adil Sheikh of PTI.

Meanwhile, the Sindh Assembly also unanimously passed a resolution against the decision to remove cricketer Sarfraz as captain of the Pakistani cricket team. This was moved in the house by MQM Pakistan’s Muhammad Hussain Khan.

It demanded immediate reinstatement of Sarfraz Ahned as the captain of the Pakistani team. Khan said he is moving the resolution since the Punjab Assembly resolution called for removal of Sarfraz Ahmed.

He said Sarfraz led the team at a time when no able captain was available to lead the Pakistani squad. He said that cricketer had played 49 test matches and scored 19 half-centuries and three centuries during his career. The MQM legislator said there is a cricketer’s lobby who does not want to see Sarfraz Ahmed as the skipper.

Supporting the resolution, Sindh Information Minister Saeed Ghani said the removal of Sarfraz is an injustice. He said Sarfraz features among the top cricketing captains of the world and his performance demands his continued retention in the team.