ISLAMABAD: Former information secretary of Pakistan Peoples Party Taj Haider has drawn the attention of Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Mian Saqib Nisar towards sea erosion in Thatta and Badin districts.

Commenting on the hearings of the Supreme Court of Pakistan on Kalabagh dam in a statement, Mr Haider has said that the real and the most alarming issue before the apex court ought to be the destruction of Indus delta and the loss of most precious lands in Thatta and Badin districts to the sea because of insufficient discharge of freshwater downstream Kotri.

It is pertinent to mention that CJP Nisar on Monday, while hearing a case, said that water should be top priority of the country and it should take steps to make water reservoirs.

Mr Haider, who is a former senator, said that the need for the release of sufficient quantities of water to stop sea erosion was duly recognised by the Inter-Provincial Water Accord of 1991, however, what quantity of water release would be sufficient to stop sea erosion, and what should be the operational criteria for Tarbela and Mangla dams and the two major Link Canals taking water from Indus River has not been worked out even after the passage of 28 years. The speed with which sea erosion is taking place, it is rightly feared that by 2050 sea water would be touching Thatta city.

Mr Haider requested the CJP to visit Thatta and Badin districts and to compare the old maps of the sea coast with the present satellite images, saying that he would find how Pakistan’s land was being eaten up by the sea.

Published in Dawn, June 6th, 2018