QUETTA:
A high-level ministerial delegation from Balochistan successfully negotiated a deal with Sindh authorities to address the province’s critical water shortage, offering a lifeline to thousands of desperate farming families.
At a central meeting in Karachi, both sides agreed on long-term cooperation and an immediate increase in water supply to resolve the interprovincial dispute.
Balochistan Irrigation
Minister Mir Muhammad Sadiq Umrani, who led the visiting team along with provincial ministers Saleem Ahmed Khosa and Muhammad Khan Lehri, stressed that the breakthrough is crucial for regional stability.
“Our farmers are facing a catastrophic situation with their crops at stake,” Umrani said. “The leadership is fully aware of these concerns and we are strongly committed to ensuring that Balochistan receives its exact constitutional and agreed share of water without delay.”
Responding to the urgency, Sindh Irrigation Minister Jam Khan Shoro assured his counterparts that Sindh is fully on board to stabilize the shared supply lines, despite facing its own regulatory hurdles at the federal level.
“We deeply understand the plight of Balochistan’s farming community,” Shoro affirmed. “Sindh is committed to cooperation and we will ensure that around 9,000 cusecs of water is maintained through the Pat Feeder Canal to protect these vital crops, true to the spirit of the 1991 Water Accord.”
The deal comes as fields across Balochistan lie parched, with local growers seeing their livelihoods wither away.
Across the Kirthar Canal command area, farming communities have been staging protests for weeks, warning that the severe lack of irrigation has put standing crops in imminent danger of complete failure and threatening families with financial ruin.
According to a report published in The Express Pakinomist on 5 July, the Balochistan government was considering legal action against the Sindh government over “unfair” distribution of canal water after repeated contacts with the Sindh chief minister and other authorities failed to ensure that the province received its approved share.
Pat Feeder Canal Superintending Engineer Mudassar Khoso had said that although the Indus River System Authority (IRSA) had reported better water availability, the Sindh Irrigation Department was still supplying Balochistan with 46% less water than its allotted share.
He said Balochistan received only 0.365 million acre-feet (MAF) of water against its allotted share of 0.678 MAF, leaving a deficit of 0.310 MAF.
Khoso said on RD-109, Balochistan required 6,700 cusecs of water
but received only 4,096 cusecs. Similarly, at RD-102, the province received only 1,050 cusecs against a requirement of 2,400 cusecs.
He said he had previously written to the relevant authorities for a review of water flows allocated to Balochistan, but received a reply contrary to official procedures and administrative ethics.
