Dr Afridi writing from Australia has quite rightly stressed the urgent need for developing the Thar coal reserves, but that will not give us water. The inconvenience being faced because of loadshedding is making us ignore the much bigger problem, that of water shortage.
Food inflation is making the lives of the people miserable. It is making the middle class poor and the poor poorer. Agriculture is the backbone of the economy of Pakistan.
It contributes 24 percent to GDP, 40 percent to agro-based exports, accounts for 60 percent of export revenues, absorbs 47 percent of the total labour force, and is the sole source of livelihood of the rural population of Pakistan.
To answer his concern, whatever was humanly possible to create an atmosphere of mutual understanding was done under the Water Apportionment Accord of 1991:
River water distribution was taken away from the controversial Wapda and entrusted to the new federal body, IRSA, with equal representation from the four provinces. A federal representative from Sindh was added later, giving Sindh and Balochistan three votes against one for Punjab.
Punjab agreed to reduce its share in favour of Sindh in all future dams. Moreover, in an unprecedented concession, Punjab agreed to the posting of a monitoring team of one XEN and four SDOs from the Sindh irrigation department on major head works of Punjab.
The Water Accord states, “All the provinces agree to the necessity of more dams on all the rivers including on the Indus”. Sindh is a signatory to the Accord.
It will be seen that it is ignorance which gives rise to distrust which is then exploited by the politicians for their own agendas. Until the more educated among us become more vocal, no progress will be made. Instead of just one person, dozens of people should be raising their voices. We can manage with less electricity but not without food.
KHURSHID ANWER
Lahore
