KP govt took over 6 months to appoint its member IRSA

PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government took more than six months to find a replacement for its member of the Indus River Systems Authority (IRSA).

Its previous member, Engineer Raqib Khan, completed his three-year term in November 2019. Since then the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government in the province couldn’t take a decision about his replacement. Finally, the provincial government appointed Engineer Zahid Abbas, a retired chief engineer in the irrigation department, to represent the province in IRSA. The indecision of the government was surprising as it could easily pick-up someone from the list of candidates who had experience of working in the irrigation department on senior positions. Zahid Abbas’ name was reportedly proposed by the provincial irrigation department and a summary was sent to the concerned authorities, but the government’s usual indecisiveness came in the way of finalizing its choice. As soon as Zahid Abbas was appointed as member IRSA, he assumed charge as chairman of the organization as it was Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s turn on the basis of yearly rotation among the four provinces to occupy the position. Any further delay in appointment of member IRSA by the provincial government would have been harmful for the province. The members of IRSA represent their respective provinces on the issues that may emerge in terms of water distribution.