ISLAMABAD/KARACHI: President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani met at the Presidency on Monday and discussed the Punjab-Sindh row over the opening of the Chashma-Jhelum Link canal.

Mr Gilani met the president a day before his crucial meeting with the four chief ministers and officials of the Indus River System Authority to discuss and resolve the dispute which erupted after a decision by the acting chief of Irsa to open the canal.

Sources in the Presidency said the president and the prime minister also discussed political and administrative issues, but the focus of their discussion was the row over the opening of the canal, Punjab’s doubling its demand for water and Sindh seeking immediate closure of the canal.

According to the sources, the president asked the prime minister to handle the issue with sagacity and find out the best possible solution acceptable to both sides.

Sindh claims that the Chashma-Jhelum Link canal is a non-perennial canal meant only for flood control and it could not be used as a regular canal. But Punjab is of the view that it is a perennial facility and every province has the right to draw its share of water.

Prime Minister Gilani said in Karachi on Monday that he had summoned a meeting of chief ministers of Sindh and Punjab in Islamabad on Tuesday to sort out the row between them over the Irsa decision to open the canal.

According to Sindh Chief Minister’s Adviser Jameel Soomro, the two chief ministers would meet informally before the formal meeting with the prime minister.

Mr Gilani said he was aware of Sindh’s concern on the water issue which was also raised in Sunday’s meeting of party workers from Larkana district.

He said that Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah had communicated to him the concerns of Sindh and hoped the issue would be resolved amicably.

The prime minister presided over a meeting of the Sindh cabinet and was briefed on the law and order situation, Thar coal project and development works in the province.

A briefing on the Chasma-Jhelum canal issue was deferred because of Tuesday’s meeting.

Syed Asad Ali Shah and representative of Engro Power gave a presentation on the Thar coal project.

Water and Power Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf said the project was affordable and crucial for overcoming the power shortage.

The prime minister directed that a committee formed in the Ministry of Finance should speed up its work. He also said that all stakeholders meet immediately and decide on the development of infrastructure linked with the Thar coal project.

Courtesy by dawn.com