I AM at a loss to understand why the Indus River is claimed to be the ‘river of Sindh’ solely when it initiates in the Kailash mountains of the western Tibet region of China, flows through India-occupied Kashmir, passes through Indian Ladakh, enters Pakistan in Gilgit-Baltistan, passes through Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), Punjab, and only then enters Sindh before falling into the Arabian Sea.

The Indus derives its name from the Tibetan-Sanskrit word ‘Sindhu’, and has different names in the various regions it passes through. Thus, it belongs to all the states and provinces through which it flows. Distribution of its water is controlled by the Indus Waters Treaty between Pakistan and India, and by the Indus River System Authority (Irsa) among Pakistani provinces.

I am really worried about the present war of words between the so-called Sindhi nationalists and the ruling party in Sindh over the six canals being drawn from the Indus for the irrigation of Cholistan in Punjab.

The ruling party in Sindh is in a tight spot because the canal project has the approval of the president of Pakistan who happens to be the supreme leader of the party itself. The party has gone too far and is threatening to withdraw its support to the coalition government without realising the consequences of such a course of action.

To counter Sindh’s stance on the canals, equally harsh voices are being raised from Punjab, projecting a scenario of conflict between the two provinces.

It is time the government constituted a high-powered committee, including technical experts and Irsa to sort out the problem in a non-political manner before the matter is exploited by the wrong hands.

Malik ul Quddoos
Karachi

Published in Dawn, April 27th, 2025