Staff Report
ISLAMABAD: Minister for Law, Justice, and Human Resource, Azam Nazeer Tarar, assured the Senate on Monday that the water distribution concerns of Sindh and Balochistan would be resolved through consultations with coalition partners.
Responding to senators’ concerns during the session, Tarar emphasized the government’s commitment to prioritizing inter-provincial matters, particularly water distribution.
“The House of Federation will always prioritize addressing concerns that arise between provinces,” Tarar stated, stressing the importance of cooperation and dialogue to resolve critical issues. He added that the resolution of water concerns would involve consultations with all relevant stakeholders to ensure fair consideration of the needs and rights of all provinces.
The water issue, he said raised by Senator Sherry Rehman and others, was discussed at length in the House last week, with the federal government acknowledging Sindh’s concerns.
Tarar further clarified that in a coalition government, unilateral decisions cannot be made without addressing the concerns of coalition partners. “Rest assured, the prime minister, a thoughtful and wise leader, is committed to working inclusively and has always strived to bring everyone on board,” he said. “There will be no rush, and no constitutional deviations will occur.”
Earlier, Senator Bilal Mandokhel others raised a point of order, highlighting that while Balochistan is the largest province by area, its share in the canal system is minimal. Due to its mountainous terrain, the province relies heavily on groundwater for agriculture, with only a small part of Nasirabad Division benefiting from the canal system.
Law makers also pointed out that while the ruling party often proposes plans for the country’s improvement, the opposition tends to disagree, even with beneficial proposals. However, he expressed concern that disagreements within the ruling party itself could lead to significant issues.
Earlier, Amid growing concerns in the upper house of parliament over the worsening law and order situation in two provinces, Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar on Wednesday informed the Senate that the issue of missing persons was a major challenge for the prime minister and his cabinet.
“We believe that the state of Pakistan should function under a democratic dispensation,” he said, after JUI-F parliamentary leader Kamran Murtaza raised the issue in the Senate.
The minister assured that everything possible within the legal framework would be done. He said the commission on missing persons had been reconstituted, consisting of a retired Supreme Court judge with an unblemished record. He emphasised that maintaining law and order is the responsibility of the provinces, although federal forces can be requisitioned by them under Article 245 of the Constitution.
