In a move that might put the provinces against the Centre, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has named a former federal secretary as head of the Indus River System Authority (IRSA), a five-member water regulator appointed by the four provinces and the federal government, Dawn reported on Thursday.
The move, which effectively replaces the current chairman, Abdul Hameed Mengal of Balochistan, is also expected to cause a schism between the ruling PML-N and President Asif Ali Zardari's PPP, since the new setup appears to jeopardize the regulator's independence.
PM's Secretary Asad Rehman Gilani signed an order appointing Zafar Mahmood, a former BS-22 Federal Government officer, as head of the Indus River System Authority (IRSA).
The Ministry of Water Resources will now release an official notice to this effect.
The move is expected to cause a dispute between the center and the provinces. The PPP leader alleges Zardari did not witness or sign the legislation. Mahmood was inducted under the Irsa Amendment legislation of 2024, which was returned with objections by then-President Arif Alvi to then-caretaker PM Anwaarul Haq Kakar. What happened after it is a mystery.
According to a Ministry of Water Resources official, the president returned the draft ordinance, but only the Presidency and the Prime Minister's Office knew if the president rejected it or advised a revisit. He stated that Article 48 of the Constitution allowed the premier (in this case, Mr. Kakar) to resend the proposal, which would have become law within ten days.
"What we know for sure is that the IRSA Amendment Ordinance 2024 has now been printed [in the gazette of Pakistan] and will be placed before parliament to become a permanent act, because the ordinance obviously has a limited shelf life," he added.