THATTA: Pakistan Peoples Party’s former senator, Sassui Palijo, has sharply reacted to proposed amendments to the IRSA Act, 2024, warning that the changes will further exacerbate Sindh’s chronic water woes.

Ms Palijo disclosed to media persons here on Tuesday that the amendments would give sweeping powers to prime minister and enable him to appoint arbitrarily any person as chairman of Indus River System Authority (Irsa).

She said the move was completely unacceptable to people of Sindh as it would help perpetuate injustices to the province in distribution of water and lead to devastating consequences.

She pointed out that Sindh was already suffering due to non-implementation of the 1991 water accord, which had been at the root of continued inadequate water supply to the province. The proposed amendments would only serve to further marginalise Sindh and compromise its rights to water and financial resources, she said.

She urged all representatives of Sindh to take a strong stand against the legislation. People of Sindh would no longer bear any injustice and would wage a fight to protect their rights, she said.

She said that her concerns were echoed by other leaders as well, including senior party leaders Khurshid Ahmed Shah and Naveed Qamar, who represented Sindh in the house and vowed to oppose the amendments.

The move would further deepen existing disparities between the provinces over the issue of just distribution of water and financial resources, she said.

She contended that the controversy surrounding the IRSA Act, 2024, amendments had ignited a heated debate, with many calling for greater transparency and consultation with stakeholders before any changes were made to the existing legislation. As the situation unfolded, it became clear that people of Sindh would not stand idly by while their rights were being compromised, she said. She said the amendments had raised serious concerns among people of Sindh, who feared they would be at a great disadvantage by the changes, which lacked transparency.

She said that people of Sindh demanded that their representatives take a strong stand against the planned new legislation and protect their rights to water and financial resources.

Published in Dawn, September 4th, 2024