Govt to ensure equitable water distribution: Gilani

ISLAMABAD : Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani said on Tuesday the government would protect rights of all the provinces and ensure equitable distribution as per 1991 Water Accord.Chairing a meeting here at the Prime Minster's Secretariat, Gilani emphasized "depoliticization" of Indus River System Authority (IRSA) to make it more effective.

The Prime Minister told the meeting attended by chief ministers of Punjab and Sindh, Ministers for Water and Power, Petroleum and Natural Resources, provincial ministers, members of the provincial assemblies, federal and provincial secretaries and experts, that all provinces have a stake on one another."What binds us together is greater than what drives us apart," Gilani told the meeting convened specifically to resolve the row between Punjab and Sindh over the distribution of water.

Gilani hoped leadership of the two provinces would resolve the water issue through dialogue in an amicable manner.The Prime Minister tasked the chief ministers, their advisors and experts to sit together after the meeting and come up to him with a solution at the earliest."The Prime Minister said the consensus adoption of the 18th amendment, the NFC Award, Gilgit-Baltistan Empowerment, fight against terrorism and successful load-management through the National Energy Conference bespeak the political maturity and sagacity of both the national and provincial leadership," a press release from the PM House said.

He thanked the chief ministers for participation in the meeting and appreciated their positive attitude for agreeing in principal to a negotiated settlement.Gilani called for installing a reliable monitoring system acceptable to all the provinces.The chief ministers appreciated the sagacity of the Prime Minister and thanked him for holding a meeting in a friendly atmosphere.They assured the Prime Minister that they would clear misunderstandings and resolve the dispute in an amicable way as desired by him.