The Water Accord of 1991 was entered into specifically for developing consensus on Kalabagh dam. Why else would Punjab have agreed to a reduction in its own share in order to increase Sindh’s share? Why else would Punjab have agreed to Wapda being replaced with IRSA? Why else would Punjab have agreed to engineers from the Sindh irrigation department being posted on major head works of Punjab? All these concessions become meaningless if Punjab was not to get the benefit of Kalabagh dam in return. Also would the Accord have allocated shares to Punjab and KPK and not provided the means for utilising those shares, possible only through the left and right bank canals at Kalabagh dam. On signing the Accord all the provinces had agreed to the necessity of more dams on all the rivers including on the Indus but the Sindh delegation had requested that Kalabagh dam not be mentioned by name in the final draft. Therein lies all the confusion about the very purpose of the Water Accord. Will it not be ridiculous to say that the sole purpose of the Accord was to increase Sindh's share by reducing Punjab's share and give Sindh the right to monitor the flow in Punjab's canals.
ENGR KHURSHID ANWER,
Lahore, March 16.