ISLAMABAD: The federal government on Monday appointed a nominee of the Sindh government as a member of the Indus River System Authority (Irsa) for a period of three years.

Shafquat Hussain Wadho, a retired grade-20 chief engineer, replaces Ehsanul Haq Leghari, who had opted for premature resignation. Mr Leghari had submitted his resignation in November last year but was asked to continue until a replacement was appointed.

In January, the Sindh government had proposed the name of Mr Wadho, but his nomination had not been approved by the federal cabinet.

Interestingly, in a notification issued on Monday, the federal government accepted Mr Leghari’s resignation with effect from May 6, and directed the Sindh irrigation secretary to act as Irsa member for Sindh until the appointment of a regular member.

Retired chief engineer Shafquat Wadho replaces Ehsanul Haq Leghari after federal govt accepts his resignation

Under Section 4(7) of the Irsa Act, the provincial irrigation secretary can act as Irsa member on behalf of the respective province.

More interestingly, in another notification issued the same day, the Ministry of Water Resources appointed Mr Wadho as regular member for three years from the date he assumes charge of the position.

The ministry had been sitting on the Sindh government’s recommendation for Mr Wadho’s appointment since April 1, 2026.

Ehsan Leghari had resigned on Nov 19, 2025 after joining the Sindh government’s Planning and Development Department as member (water). However, his resignation was not accepted by the federal Ministry of Water Resources for almost six months.

Sindh has also been raising objections over the appointment of the federal member, insisting that the position should also go to a Sindh-domiciled officer, as decided during the government of Gen Pervez Musharraf.

A Sindh-domiciled federal member has not been appointed to Irsa for the past 16 years, with the post usually held by Punjab-domiciled officers, contrary to the arrangement mandating such an appointment from Sindh.

Bashir Ahmed Dahar was the last federal member from Sindh, serving from Oct 2007 to Oct 2010 under a July 10, 2000 executive order issued during the Gen Musharraf regime, which made it mandatory to appoint a federal member from Sindh. According to Sindh, the order was protected under Article 270-AA of the Constitution.

The tenure of the last federal member, Asjad Imtiaz, ended in December 2025. Subsequently, Federal Flood Commission Chairman Athar Hameed was allowed to act as federal member by virtue of his office.

Published in Dawn, May 12th, 2026