Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani had made a categorical statement last Saturday on the issues related to Pak-India water dispute, saying the government would not allow any country to exploit its water resources and Pakistan had raised the water issue with India at every international forum.
However, the prime minister’s claim suffered a major dent within a few days when a Pakistani team left for The Hague without its top expert on the issue, Indus Water Commissioner Sheraz Memon, to present the country’s case at the International Court of Arbitration.
Reportedly, Sheraz was dropped at the last moment due to his differences with special assistant to the prime minister on water and agriculture, Kamal Majeedullah, who claims to be a very close confidant of President Asif Ali Zardari.
Though time and again, the prime minister is sincerely trying to establish good governance, some players, while using the clout of the Presidency, have developed a habit of violating rules, bringing a bad name to the PPP-led coalition government as well as the Presidency and the PM’s House. It has been noticed that the people having links with the Presidency spare no opportunity to embarrass the soft-spoken prime minister who, otherwise, is considered as a smart and shrewd politician.
Same was the case when Sindh Senior Minister Dr Zulfiqar Mirza hit out at interior minister Rehman Malik at the recent provincial cabinet meeting in Karachi and accused him for meddling into the matters of the provincial government, despite the fact that Prime Minister Gilani was chairing the meeting. This outburst was a clear message that Mirza was actually taunting the premier indirectly by accusing the federation of interfering in provincial matters.
Arshad H Abbasi, an expert on water and energy issues, says this team was not serious about Pakistan’s case and it had actually left for Eid vacations on public expense as all the delegates had British nationality. “They fixed August 25 for the hearing on purpose so that they could celebrate Eid with their respective families. This is the biggest joke with the national interest and this is the reason why Majeedullah has sacked the Indus water commissioner while he himself knows nothing on the subject,” said Abbasi in a furious tone. Taking to task the delegation, which has left for Hague, Abbasi said if there was an iota of integrity, the prime minister should have directed Majeedullah to get the country’s case prepared from some expert lawyer rather than getting it formulated from an old retired official.
“I fear this is a design against Pakistan’s water sector and the country is being encircled by its neighbours. On one side, Indians are building dams after dams to cut water supply while on the other hand, they are helping Afghanistan build 12 dams on Kabul River. But Pakistan is going for rentals,” he said. It seemed that a drama was being staged in Pakistan against its strategic interests by its own government, he added.
“Look at the Indian media outlets who are filled with stories about the hearing in the court of arbitration, while in Pakistan, we have got two successive Indus water commissioners sacked by the government. At least, the rulers should leave some strategic sectors from fulfilment of their vested interests,” added Abbasi.
The International Court of Arbitration, formed by the United Nations, will take up Pakistan’s petition on August 25 that seeks a stay against India’s construction of the Kishanganga hydroelectric project on the Jhelum River in violation of the 1960’s Indus Water Treaty.
Under the treaty, the Indus water commissioner is the focal person of each country and both of them jointly form the Indus Water Commission. However, the exclusion of Memon from the Pakistani legal team may jeopardise the commitment of the prime minister and his government on the country’s water issues.
Majeedullah, who is known to work without taking any advice from any government quarter, carries no expertise on water issues and the only quality he has is that he was an editor of an evening newspaper of Karachi prior to being picked up as special assistant to the prime minister – thanks to his influence in the Presidency.
If Pakistani team fails to convince the international court, this would leave a scar on its credibility as the country has already lost its case on Baglihar Dam. During the past decade, the Indus water commissioner had been representing Pakistan at all international forums vis-à-vis water disputes with India.
Jamaat Ali Shah was appointed as Indus water commissioner in 1993 and was removed by the incumbent PPP regime on December 15, 2010. Later, Sheraz Memon was appointed as Indus water commissioner.
Pakistan had approached the international court against the Indian government move to construct 330 megawatts Kishanganga hydroelectric project by diverting the Neelum River, which, it said was in violation of the treaty. Pakistan’s argument is that the project would result in decrease in water for irrigation and would lessen the generation capacity of hydropower projects downstream.