Skip to main content

PPP’s Khuhro calls on federal govt to withdraw from ‘controversial canal project’

Pakistan Peoples Party’s Sindh President Nisar Ahmed Khuhro in a statement on Sunday said that “the federal government should immediately announce its withdrawal from the controversial canal project.”

Sindh has been grappling with a severe water crisis for many years, exacerbated by inadequate federal support and mismanagement. The province’s irrigation system is under strain, with acute water shortages impacting agriculture and daily life. Sindh’s grievances include the federal government’s failure to ensure equitable water distribution, leading to disputes over water rights and allocation.

Khuro’s comments came after PPP Cha­i­r­man Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari on Saturday criticised the federal government’s “unilateral appro­ach” to water resource management, calling for consensus-driven policies to avoid controversy. Bilawal had highlighted concerns over recent decisions to construct canals, likening them to the contentious Kalabagh Dam project.

Echoing the PPP chairman’s sentiments, Khuro said in the statement today, “If there is no additional water, where will the water be brought to the new canals?”

He added that the province of Sindh was not being given its due share of water under the 1991 Water Accord.

“Sindh strongly objects to the fact that the Chashma-Jhelum Link Canal and TP-Link Canals will be continuously drained to take Sindh’s water and that water will be released into new canals,” Khuhro added.

Sindh does not accept the plan for new canals, he concluded on the issue.

‘Sindh should be provided with its share of gas’

Khuhro also talked about the issue of gas loadshedding in the province, and said there was a “demand from the federal government that Sindh should be provided with its share of gas under the constitution.”

He declared the severe gas load shedding and low gas pressure in Sindh was a violation of Article 158 of the Constitution.

“Under Article 158 of the Constitution, it is mandatory that the needs of the province from which gas is produced should be met first,” he said.

He also rejected the decision of the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) to increase gas prices by 25 per cent, calling on Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to review the decision.

Earlier in the month, Sindh Information Minister Sharjeel Inam Memon had said that the ongoing problem of gas load-shedding in Sindh had reached an “alarming level”.

He had said people were facing severe hardships due to the gas scarcity, which was adversely impacting daily life and industrial activities.

Meanwhile, PM Shehbaz on Friday directed authorities to ensure an uninterrupted gas supply to domestic consumers during the winter season without delay.



from The Dawn News - Home https://ift.tt/oscCnve

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

The Republican primary race for president in 2024

The Republican primary race for president in 2024 is already shaping up to be a competitive one. There are a number of high-profile candidates who have already announced their intention to run, and more are expected to join the field in the coming months. The frontrunner for the nomination is former President Donald Trump. Trump has been teasing a 2024 run for months, and he has a large and loyal following among Republican voters. However, he is also a polarizing figure, and his candidacy could alienate some moderate Republicans. Another potential contender for the nomination is Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. DeSantis has been praised by many conservatives for his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic and his opposition to vaccine mandates. He is also seen as a rising star in the Republican Party. Other potential candidates include former Vice President Mike Pence, former Ambassador Nikki Haley, and Senator Tim Scott. Pence is a more traditional Republican who could appeal to moderate vote...

Ministers rubbish notion that proposed retirement age extension to favour ‘one particular institution’

Information Minister Attaullah Tarar on Tuesday rubbished the notion that a proposed extension in the retirement age was to favour “one particular institution”, adding that the move would be implemented across the board if approved. The rebuttal comes in the wake of media reports claiming that the government was mulling changes to the Constitution to fix the tenure of the chief justice . Currently, judges of the Supreme Court, including the chief justice, retire after attaining the age of superannuation, i.e. 65 years, as stipulated in Article 179 of the Constitution. While giving his opinion recently on the reports of the constitutional amendment, Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar had said he “will not vehemently turn down the proposals related to the tenure of the chief justice”. Addressing the issue during a press conference in Islamabad today along since Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb and the law minister, Attaullah said the extension in the retirement age was “a proposal to a...

In noisy NA session, Bilawal endorses PTI’s call for judicial inquiry into May 9 riots

In his maiden speech during a session of the newly elected National Assembly, PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari on Monday endorsed the PTI’s call for a judicial inquiry into the May 9 riots. He passed these remarks in reference to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur’s recent call for the formation of a judicial commission to probe the violent protests that erupted across the country following PTI founder Imran Khan’s arrest on May 9 last year. “I call upon the chief justice Supreme Court of Pakistan (Justice Qaez Faiz Isa) to form [a judicial commission] and see who are the beneficiaries [of May 9],” Gandapur had said in a fiery speech after being elected the chief executive of KP. Speaking on the floor of the lower house of the Parliament today, Bilawal said he endorsed Gandapur’s demand. But at the same time, he stated that the result should be accepted by everyone, including the Imran-led party. “It is not possible that someone attacks our institution and th...