Dear Honourable Sir

With this letter I want to draw your attention to the crucial, critical and conspiratorial issue that is been schemed against poor, unprivileged and deprived province of 40 million people of Sindh. This poor nation is been treaded, depleted and exploited by the fanatic fundamentalists of Islam in the name of religion and so-called independence of new secular country. The callous and unabashed Pakistan’s oligarchy who has produced cannibals like Zia-ul-Haq, Muala Umer and Usama bin Ladin now are planning to devastate, deplete and desert the 40 million people with one stroke by building the devil dam, Kalabagh dam and Greater Thal Canal in most populated province of Pakistan Punjab. I would like to adduce some facts and figures to prove how the Pakistan’s government elite that completely belong to one province, Punjab, has planned to exploit the due share of water of Sindh and other provinces for their irrigation, energy and development.
River Indus is only source of freshwater that sustains the people, irrigation, environment and economy of Sind. The Indus system comprises of seven rivers including the River Indus itself. The five rivers of Punjab - Bias, Sutluj, Ravi, Chanab, and Jhelum discharge in Indus at Mithan Kot and the Kabul river at Attock.
The plunder of water share of Sindh is not just new Sindh is suffering since one and half century by undivided and now divided Punjab.
It all started when in 1859; the undivided Punjab first constructed the central Doab Canal on the Ravi, without permission of Sindh that was lower riparian of this river at this time. After the Central Bari Doeb, the upper riparian constructed between 1885 and 1901, three more canals viz Sidhnai, lower Chenab and Lower Jhelum canals, all without the consent of lower riparian Sindh. Paharpur Canal in 1908, upper Swat Canal in 1914 followed in similar fashion. In 1915 again they diverted water on grand scale with multiple canal projects. The first one was triple canal project for diverting the common water through three new canals viz Jhelum Canal, Upper Chenab and the lower Bari Doeb Canal. In 1919, undivided Punjab started the huge Sutlaj Valley project for construction of 11 canals and 4 head works on the Sutlej River at one shot. In September 1919 government of Punjab presented Thal project that was rejected by Viceroy Lord Chelmsford at that time considering it totally useless and against Sindh. The undivided Punjab with some manipulation in their conspiracy establish some sort of claims on Indus Waters in November 1924, and requested government of India to reopen the question of Thal project, this time with a proposal to construct a small experimental Canal involving 750 cusecs. At this time even, government of India considered this gigantic project unfair with Sindh and regretted to accede the request of Punjab.
In 1947, India divided into two parts Pakistan and India same way Punjab into east Punjab and west Punjab that belongs to Pakistan now. At this time a committee was constituted by the government of India named committee B, for making arrangements for the division of the waters of Indus Basin Rivers between two countries. If any side (Pakistan and India) was to be dissatisfied with the decision of this committee, it could appeal to the Arbitral Tribunal, which was headed by the Chief Justice of India, Sir Patrick Spense. The Tribunal’s tenure was up to 31st March 1948.
Undivided Punjab was waiting for this day to over and till that period they did not provoke any problem against Pakistan esp. Sindh. On April 1, 1948 the day after the Arbitral Tribunal ceased to exist, the East Punjab government cut off the water supplies in every canal crossing into Pakistan. Millions of people faced the ruin of their crops, the loss of their herds, eventual starvation dud to lack of water. Incidentally the existing situation in Sindh created by the artificial water-famine imposed upon Sindh, is a hundred times more sever and disastrous than described above but this time the people facing are merely the people of poor Sindh. Under the distressful circumstances, a delegation was sent from Pakistan to Delhi in the beginning of May, 1948 to seek solution of water problem but East Punjab kept aggressive posture and compel west Punjab to accept that they don’t have right over water and sale these three rivers named Ravi, Sutlej, and Bias to them otherwise they will not restore the water to region for time fitful. Most importantly in this whole agreement of east and wet Punjab the Sindh was kept uninformed and ignored.
The Pakistani Punjab looking at their unforgivable mistake took a U turn and plotted to compensate it by manipulating and diminishing and diverting the due share of Sindh. It is open secret that since the death in 1948, of the first Governor General of Pakistan, Mr. M.A. Jinnah, the Pakistan governments have been overtly or covertly influenced or directly controlled by the military, intelligence agencies, bureaucracy, and feudal lords and capitalists for hire, and in that order too. It must be noted that these components of oligarchy in Pakistan are dominated almost entirely by the Punjabis. It is abundantly clear that the Pakistani oligarchy treats small provinces like Sindh of Pakistan nothing than the colony of Punjab.
Before partition, there were only one barrage, the Sukkur barrage, on the River Indus built in 1932. In the last 55 years, there are now 19 barrages and 43 canal systems with 48 off-takes on the Indus system in Pakistan, creating world’s largest contiguous man made system of 61,000km of canals and 105000 water courses, irrigating 35 million acres of land… Three storage reservoirs were also built, Mangla on River Jhelum and Terbella and Chashma on River Indus, with total storage capacity of 20 MAF. Additionally, 12 link canals were built to transfer water from western river to eastern rivers or the tributaries of the River Indus.
Under its vision 2025 program, Pakistan has planned numerous project and approved them for construction without appropriate consultation or consent of Sindh as required under the many agreement between Sindh and Punjab. These project includes Kalabagh dam, Basha dam, Sukurdu dam, Satpara dam, Dhok pathan dam, Sanjwal dam, Akhori dam, Bhater dam, Rohtas dam, Yugo dam, Chiniot reservoir, Hingol dam, Naulang dam, Gajnai dam, Mol and khadeji dam, Mirani dam, Sabazai dam, Gomal Zam dam, Kalam dam, Kachhi canal, Chashma right bank canal, greater Thal canal, Rainee canal, Sehwan barrage, etc. As has been practice in the past, most of these projects have been designed to benefit the Punjabi military, establishment and their lackeys.
These all project and current mega project that are envisaged for construction are absolutely violation of all agreements and accords between Sindh and Punjab. Please, for details of water accords between Pakistan and India; between Sindh and Punjab read; Cotton Committee, Anderson Commission, Roy Commission, 1945 Sindh-Punjab Agreement, Indus Basin Water Treatment, Sindh-Punjab water accord 1991.
Total available water below rim is about 104 MAF and it is not enough to entertain the luxury of so many projects on the Indus Water System. The continuous loot and diversion of Sindh’s due share of water by Punjab by one pretext or other for making their arid land into arable has deserted millions of cultivated acres of Sindh. This time due to water shortage many people has lost their property, employment, land, and life. People of Sindh are starving for the drop of water and if these people stage any protest or raise their voice against water shortage, dictators of Pakistan beats and kills the protestors. Few months back aristocrats of Pakistan supplied brackish and poisonous water to one of the district of Sindh that caused the life of 100 people of that area; this was merely planned lesson of these dictators to the people of Sindh for chanting their issue.
The voice of these people has been suppressed by many intrigues by oligarchy of Pakistan in one or other way but if you keep soft heart and feel oneself human lover and really wish to save the life 40 million people of Sindh then you could be voice of them. I would like to recommend you to request Government of Pakistan to stop construction of Kalabagh dam and Greater Thal Canal.

Thanks
With regards
Sulman Talpur