Karachi [Pakistan], June 1 (ANI): Amid the water crisis in Pakistan’s Sindh province, Sindh Chairman of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Nisar Ahmed Khuhro called a meeting of the provincial executive committee to decide of an action plan against the injustice inflicted by the Indus River System Authority (IRSA) and the Center headed by Prime Minister Imran Khan.

At a press conference, Sindh Agriculture Minister Ismail Rahoo accused the Pakistani government led by Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) at the Center of stealing Sindh’s water share, reported The Express Tribune.

He also rejected claims that Sindh was encroaching on Balochistan’s water share and said it was Punjab province that was stealing water from both provinces. He also claimed that Sindh was supplying water to Balochistan by reducing its own share.

Criticizing the federal government for its mismanagement, Rahoo said farm fields had been ravaged by locusts but the federal government had provided no help, as lack of water affected the cultivation of sugarcane, the costs of pesticides, tractors and fertilizers have also increased.

The province has faced water shortages in the past, but this federal government is indifferent to the plight of farmers in Sindh, Rahoo said.

He also claimed that the federal government had promised to export a rice crop worth $ 2.5 billion, but only managed to export $ 1.5 billion of rice in the past nine months, reported The Express Tribune.

Continuing on the plight of producers, the minister said that the government of Sindh had asked the federal government for help in areas affected by disasters and called for loans to be paid by farmers to be canceled. However, the federal government ignored it.

Meanwhile, the Sindh government blamed the IRSA and the federal government for violating the 1991 Water Allocation Agreement, but the IRSA argued that the water shortage was due to a lack of water. water in rivers.

Amid increasing population and climate change, the availability of fresh water is becoming a concern in South Asia, especially Pakistan, which could face absolute water scarcity by 2040.

According to a Washington-based magazine, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) placed Pakistan third in the list of countries facing severe water scarcity. In addition, per capita freshwater availability in Pakistan has fallen below the water scarcity threshold (1,000 cubic meters), which was 3,950 cubic meters in 1961 and 1,600 in 1991. (ANI)