Pakistan's provinces locked in row over share in river waters

New Delhi, April 6 A major controversy is raging in Pakistan over the distribution of water among provinces, with the southern province of Sindh crying foul ahead of a crucial meeting of Pakistan’s water regulator for the allocation during the kharif season, local media reports said.

Pakistan’s water regulator is heading for the meeting without fulfilling its own legal composition requirements, raising immediate questions about the credibility of decisions that will affect millions of farmers.

The Indus River System Authority’s Advisory Committee is scheduled to determine water availability on April 7, yet the absence of a regular Sindh member and a Sindh-domiciled federal member leaves the body incomplete at a moment when precision and trust are essential, according to an article in the Karachi-based Business Recorder.

This is not a procedural technicality. Water distribution in Pakistan has long been a politically sensitive issue, and the authority tasked with managing it derives its legitimacy from both representation and adherence to law. In this case, both appear compromised. Sindh’s nominee for its seat remains pending without a clear explanation, while the federal government has yet to appoint a Sindh-domiciled federal member despite a long-standing legal requirement. The result is a regulatory body operating in a grey zone, expected to take decisions that will inevitably be contested, the article lamented.

The imbalance is neither recent nor incidental. The position of federal member from Sindh has effectively remained unfilled for 16 years, with officers from other provinces occupying the role in deviation from the mandated framework. This history adds weight to current concerns, suggesting that what should be an exception has become an embedded practice. When legal provisions are bypassed over such a long period, institutional credibility erodes, and with it, the willingness of stakeholders to accept outcomes, the article points out.

The immediate timing makes the situation more precarious. The upcoming meeting will assess river flows and determine water availability for the kharif season, a period that is crucial for agricultural output. While reservoir levels are expected to be better than last year, early indications suggest that Sindh’s demand for early kharif water may not be fully met due to lower carryover levels in Tarbela. In such a scenario, even marginal disagreements can escalate quickly, particularly if one province feels underrepresented in the decision-making process, the article observed.

Compounding the issue is the continued overlap of roles within the authority. The outgoing Sindh member, whose resignation has yet to be formally accepted, is expected to attend the meeting while simultaneously serving in the provincial government. Such arrangements further blur institutional boundaries and weaken the perception of neutrality that is critical in adjudicating resource distribution, it stated.

The legal dimension is equally significant. The requirement to appoint a Sindh-domiciled federal member is rooted in an executive order that remains constitutionally protected. Ongoing litigation over previous appointments has already highlighted the fragility of the current structure. Persisting with an incomplete composition, despite these legal and judicial signals, reflects a disregard for procedural integrity at a time when governance standards should be tightening, the article added.

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