Karachi: Pakistan’s Punjab Province is poisoning the people of Sindh by releasing pollutants into rivers which flow into Sindh, according to a grave warning issued by the Sindh Assembly.
The Assembly has passed a resolution asking the Supreme Court of Pakistan to take notice of lethal chemical pollutants being released towards Sindh by factories in Punjab as they were virtually killing Sindh.
The resolution was moved by the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) parliamentary leader Nisar Ahmed Khuhro to draw attention of the Supreme Court’s water commission towards the constant menace of discharge of industrial seepage from Punjab into Sindh’s water supply.
The resolution states that: “”The House is of the opinion that it is essential that these industrial effluents should be scientifically treated before their release in water channels and expects the water commission to take up the matter with the government of Punjab, since all previous pleas from Sindh in this regard have fallen on deaf ears.”
He added that the disaster is entirely man-made and has been caused by the negligence and apathy of federal institutions.
Khusro also expressed concern over the failure and apathy of the Indus River System Authority (IRSA) to curb the continuing and accelerating erosion of the most fertile coastal land of the Indus Delta by the sea.
The resolution adopted by the Sindh Assembly on Monday also demanded that the Chief Justice of Pakistan take suo moto notice of the severe water shortage in Sindh.
Various NGOs and political organizations have also raised concern over Punjab province’s unfair treatment in sharing resources with other provinces in Pakistan.
Dr Hidayat Bhutto, a London based activist of the World Sindhi Congress, said, “It’s a long standing problem that Punjab establishment is trying to build Kalabagh Dam, a proposed hydroelectric dam on the Indus River, through Supreme Court of Pakistan which has been rejected by all other three provinces. About 80 per cent of people in Sindh drink contaminated water hence 25-30 per cent people are suffering with diseases like Hepatitis.”
He added, Punjabi establishment is the culprit but corrupt Sindh government as well the Supreme Court also act as a tool for the establishment”. (ANI)