Federal Minister for Planning Development and Special Initiatives Ahsan Iqbal has reassured all provinces that they will receive their fair share of resources and that no province will be deprived of its rights by another.

He was addressing a joint press conference with Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah after attending the ‘Uraan Pakistan’ workshop at the Chief Minister House Karachi on Feb 24.

Apparently referring to Mr Shah’s concerns over water shortages in Sindh amidst reports of the Cholistan Canal’s approval, Mr Iqbal added that there was no water available in the system to support new canals. Undeterred, Mr Shah said the provincial government would fight for its water rights through legal and constitutional means rather than protests.

The Indus River System Authority (Irsa) has greenlit water supply to the Cholistan Canal System project, extending irrigated agriculture to the area, according to a recent media report. Secretary of Irsa Jahanzab Khan says the report has issued a water availability certificate to the Punjab government for the Cholistan project.

Provincial representatives grow increasingly frustrated over insufficient funding and the apparent lack of decentralisation efforts

Following the approval, Punjab will construct the Cholistan Canal branching from the Sutlej River at Sulemanki Headworks, according to Irsa sources, providing access to 450,000 acre-feet of water. However, the authority’s Sindh........

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