Daily Times

The Balochistan government has once again accused Sindh of stealing water from the province. Balochistan government spokesman Liaquat Shahwani told a private Tv channel that Balochistan should get 7,600 cusecs of water from Pat Feeder Canal, but is actually only getting 6,000 cusecs of water from Sindh. Similarly, he said, they are getting 1,800 cusecs of water instead of 2,400 cusecs from the Kirthar Canal. In the last 10 days, Sindh has been providing 55% less water in these two canals, he said. He said that in this situation, there is a danger of destruction of crops on 76,000 acres in the agricultural areas of Balochistan adjacent to Sindh. The Balochistan government has decided to take up the issue of water theft from Sindh with the Sindh government and in the Council of Common Interests, Shahwani said. Last week, the Sindh Cabinet had spoken out against water shortage in the province during the ongoing Kharif season and had blamed the Centre for its “animosity” towards Sindh. Cabinet members had pointed out that the Indus River System Authority had failed to implement the 1991 water accord, adding that instead of distributing the water shortages among provinces in accordance with the agreed formula, Punjab was given the lion’s share.