Troubled waters and barren lands

The issue of the six canals to be pulled out of the River Indus apparently to irrigate Cholistan is now well documented. 

Also, well understood is the stress it has caused in Sindh where activists against the canals say that millions of people are in danger of losing their livelihoods as water is taken away from their lands.

Tail-end farmers in Sindh already face problems linked to growing water scarcity notably in the Indus Delta and consequent erosion from the sea. 

Beyond this, there is also the issue of quite what the proposed canals will achieve in Cholistan. Experts who have studied the problem point out that a similar canal project worked out in neighbouring Rajasthan in 1960 led to only small pockets of land close to the canals created by diverting two rivers being made green and the rest of Rajasthan remaining a vast desert, with the sands overtaking the water pumped through it by the authorities in the hope of turning the desert to arable land.

There is a danger that the same will happen in Cholistan. Already it has been pointed out that the use of waters from the River Ravi and the River Sutlej, handed over to India under the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty, are heavily polluted and the water in these rivers is essentially provided by link canals from India in which waste and sewage is dumped by that country. 

This is stated to be one reason why there is such a high ratio of sickness linked to the digestive system in southern Punjab. There are also studies which suggest there are safer ways of providing water to Cholistan and surely the main requirement should be to provide water for people to drink and use for their needs rather than agricultural water in a project that according to past precedent in neighbouring areas is not likely to succeed.

The key issue here is ideas that are dependent on the use of water in Punjab and the vastly different approach to the problem in water-starved Sindh. 

In Punjab, the governments had to come down with a law to penalise the wastage of water such as washing one's cars in driveways etc. In Sindh, people across the province and especially in the Tharparkar area struggle to collect a few litres of water to meet their daily needs. 

Even in this day and age, women walk many miles to collect water their families need. This is surely something which should not be accepted in a time when people need to be provided with at least their most basic necessities. 

The political turmoil caused by the canals issue is already visible as is the new injection of strength it has provided to Sindhi nationalism in all its various forms. Essentially Sindh is united against the canals, even as the federal government tries to push the project through.

The key issue here is the desperate need to unite rather than further divide our country. For this to happen there must be an understanding of the unique problems of each province and its people. 

These need to be shared by others and understood by the entire country. The fact that people in Punjab do not fully recognise quite what water means in other parts of the country, including Sindh and Balochistan, is in so many ways desperately sad. There are also constitutional provisions to ensure that decisions which affect a particular province are based on consensus.

The Council of Common Interests should have met to discuss the canals. The fact that such a meeting was not called again shows how fragile the pillars holding up our federation have become and the need to make them much stronger.

This can happen only if we make a genuine effort to accept provincial differences and diversities. We cannot create uniformity in a country which has so many diverse issues and so many different nationalities living within it. 

While essentially the identity of everyone in Pakistan should begin with being a Pakistani, most people when asked state their ethnic groups first of all and then go on to smaller details like the place in which they live. The issue of being a Pakistani does not fall on the top of the list.

We need to change this by driving home the messages we are receiving from Sindh to people across the country including decision-makers behind the Green Cholistan project. 

The dangers of not attaining this are immense. We already see divides in the country that have badly damaged its structure and made it weaker in so many different ways. 

The terrorism in Balochistan is once again threatening the province and has most recently led to the closure of several major universities within it. Students are asked to stay away from campuses and take online classes. 

There are of course many other issues especially if you walk across the chapters of history and look at the various acts which in so many ways separated our country into different portions and in 1971 led to the tumultuous creation of Bangladesh.

There's every reason to learn from mistakes and not repeat them again. Precisely how this end can be achieved is not easy to determine. But the leadership in Punjab and centre needs to take a major role in raising their voice and joining in the chorus we hear from Sindh. 

At the very least the Cholistan agricultural project should be revisited and water brought to the area from other sources rather than in a manner which affects Sindh and its people.

This is possible according to experts who have closely studied the problem and written in detail about it. It is sad that their many suggestions and proposals continue to be ignored.

This should not become a matter of pride or of a win-and-lose situation but one in which the good of the country can be put ahead of everything else and unity created among the federating people of Pakistan so that we can gain strength in a time when we so badly need it and so many recognise that it is essential to the future of a country which struggles to pull together and hold together all the various units which make up a land of diversity and one inhabited by so many different groups and so many different people. This is its beauty and its potential strength.

Disclaimer: The viewpoints expressed in this piece are the writer's own and don't necessarily reflect Geo.tv's editorial policy.

The writer is a freelance columnist and former newspaper editor. She can be reached at: [email protected]

Originally published in The News