HYDERABAD, Nov 10: The central executive committee of the Awami Tehrik at a meeting held here on Sunday reiterated that there was no water in the Indus river system to store in new dams or to divert through canals like the greater Thal canal.

The meeting presided over by AT chief Rasool Bux Palijo, termed the Vision 2025 of Wapda bogus and observed Pakistan was a federation which was joined by the people of the provinces to safeguard their socio-economic rights.

“Therefore any attempt to impose unilateral decisions approved by the rulers’ stooges on water issue is illegal and will not be binding on the people of Sindh”, the meeting observed.

It resolved to continue struggle for the inalienable rights of Sindh till the Sindh-Punjab water dispute was resolved, the plunder of Sindh’s share of water was stopped and compensated for and the greater Thal canal and Kalabagh dam projects were buried forever.

The meeting was of the opinion that only after the settlement of above issues would it be reasonable to deliberate over ways and means for increasing the quantum of water availability on the basis of justice and mutual good will.

“Without such a settlement any bogus and fraudulent consensus will never be acceptable to the people”, the meeting insisted.

It demanded that the ongoing work on the greater Thal canal should be immediately stopped and the Chashma-Jehlum and Taunsa-Panjnad link canals should be closed.

The meeting said the people of Sindh viewed with concern the attempts of the federal and Punjab governments as well as Wapda to divert the Indus waters by building dams by hook or crook.

The meeting termed the attempts illegal, unconstitutional and deceptive like the 1991 Water Accord which was thrust upon Sindh through the puppet government of Jam Sadiq.

The meeting pointed out that the water dispute between Sindh and Punjab was an unresolved dispute and Sindh had been constantly deprived of its water share by the upper riparian.

It cited the example of artificial water famine imposed upon Sindh during the last five years (1998-2003).

Sindh, the meeting observed, had experienced acute shortage of even drinking water and the agriculture sector of the province had suffered a loss to the tune of trillions of rupees while the Punjab province was producing bumper crops.