Bilawal criticises PTI govt for 'not ensuring fair distribution of water in Pakistan'

• Bilawal Bhutto criticises PTI-led govt for not ensuring a fair supply of water to all provinces of Pakistan.
• Says Karachi, Thatta, Badin, Sujawal and Tharparkar have been facing acute water shortage yet the federal government reduced Sindh's water supply.
• Demands Indus River System Authority (IRSA) officials clarify on whose orders the share of water for Sindh was reduced.

KARACHI: Pakistan Peoples Party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari on Sunday criticised the federal government for failing to ensure a fair distribution of water in the country.

In a statement, Bilawal said that Karachi, Thatta, Badin, Sujawal and Tharparkar have been facing acute water shortage while stopping water supply to Sindh at the time of sowing would be disastrous for rice cultivation and textile sector.

Bilawal demanded Indus River System Authority (IRSA) officials clarify on whose orders the share of water for Sindh was reduced.

The PPP chairman said that Imran Khan should "stop the efforts to make the lands of Sindh barren by stopping the flow of water."

He added that other provinces, including Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab, and Balochistan, also have the right to get water under the agreed formula while any province of the country would continue to raise its voice if its right to water is violated.

IRSA responds, says water distribution is not unfair 

In response to Bilawal's comments, IRSA spokesman Muhammad Khalid Rana said that due to the shortage of water in the rivers, the water supply to Sindh had to be reduced for some days but now the situation is under control now.

Rana claimed that during the cultivation of cotton in Sindh, more water is supplied to the province as compared to Punjab.

Special Assistant to Prime Minister Imran Khan for Food Security Jamshed Iqbal Cheema said that ISRA makes decisions related to water distribution through the consensus of all provinces. 

"Bilawal's propaganda that water distribution across provinces is unfair is absolutely incorrect," said Cheema.