ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has withdrawn notification of new Chairman IRSA (Indus River System Authority, Zafar Mahmood, after stiff resistance from Sindh.

On Thursday, Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah telephoned Prime Minister and conveyed a very strong message from the province, saying that appointment of Chairman IRSA under controversial amended IRSA Act by the caretaker government was not acceptable to the province.

On Wednesday, Syed Naveed Qamar, former Minister for Water and Power, also spoke on a point of order in the National Assembly and raised concerns on the appointment of retired bureaucrat as Chairman IRSA.

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“On the very first day, if we start encroaching upon the rights of the provinces then how do we function as a federation? It was the first illegal act of the present government to appoint the chairman hurriedly without bringing the law to the floor of the house,” he added.

He also lambasted the new government for “hurriedly” appointing the IRSA chairman without placing the ordinance on the floor of the house.

Meanwhile, nationalists of Sindh also spoke against the appointment of new Chairman IRSA without taking province into confidence.

According to a letter written by Secretary to Prime Minister, Asad Rehman Gilani “the orders of the Prime Minister’s Office of March 12, 2024, for appointment of Zafar Mahmood, a retired BS-22 Federal Government Officer, as Chairman IRSA may be treated as withdrawn. Further necessary action shall be taken accordingly.”

Copyright Business Recorder, 2024