EDITORIAL: Chairman Pakistan People’s Party Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, in a press conference at Parliament House on Tuesday, reiterated President Asif Ali Zardari’s concerns over water distribution policies during his address to the joint sitting of parliament on Monday when he stated “as the President of Pakistan, it is my constitutional duty to caution this House that some of your one-sided policies are straining the federation.
The unilateral decision to extract further canals from the Indus River system, despite strong opposition from federating units, is concerning. I cannot support this proposal in my capacity as president.“ Two observations are in order.
First and foremost, the decision to extract further canals was approved by the government of Sindh though the decision dates back to the time the interim, rather than an elected or representative provincial government, was in place.
And secondly and more importantly; the canals are envisaged to irrigate 500 acres in Cholistan, Punjab, under the salutary Green Pakistan Initiative which envisages providing high quality seeds, fertilisers, pesticides and fuel to farmers at their doorstep, renting out tractors and drones with the Agri Research and Facilitation Centre providing technical output and laboratory services, including soil testing to farmers as well as collaborate with research and academic institutions throughout Pakistan to improve farm output.
Reports also indicate that Middle Eastern interest in this project is considerable in terms of foreign direct investment. In other words, there is an obvious economic positive outcome of the Green Initiative — an outcome that our fragile economy desperately needs.
Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari during his press conference stated that President Zardari’s concern was within the context of water scarcity, climate change and fair resource allocation but added that the forum to debate this issue must be the Council of Common Interests (CCI), a constitutional body set up under Article 153, empowered to resolve “disputes among federating units or areas regarding their rights on water or from any natural source and authorises the Federal or the provincial government concerned to make a complaint to CCI.
The CCI can either decide or recommend the President to set up a commission consisting of persons having knowledge and experience in irrigation, engineering, administration, finance and law under the Pakistan Commissions of Inquiry Act, 1956.“
Article 154 (3) of the constitution makes it mandatory for a CCI meeting at least once every 90 days and it must be concerning that the last (fifty-first) CCI meeting was held on 29 January 2024 under the auspices of an interim government. This is a lapse that is not, disturbingly, unique to the incumbent administration and one would hope that it will be rectified as soon as possible.
Although the CCI composition includes the prime minister, the four chief ministers, and as of 24 March 2024 federal ministers Ishaq Dar, Khawaja Asif and Amir Muqaam. In other words, the administration by definition has at least one more member than the opposition which effectively implies that the government stance will prevail in any CCI meeting but Bilawal’s stress was on building a consensus on this issue.
Rana Sanaullah, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on parliamentary affairs, when asked stated that the needs of the federation must take precedence over any other considerations.
And it is in this spirit that one would hope that there is a speedy resolution of this looming misgiving between the federal government and Sindh — be it behind closed doors or be it in a much publicised CCI meeting.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
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