Thirsty Pakistan

Foreign Minister level dialogues with India are scheduled in FEB. India refused to include Pakistan's concern over water issue, in the agenda.

Lets know our resources first...

The Islamic Republic of Pakistan, the second largest South Asian nation, has a total

population of 146 million and a land mass of 79.61 million hectares (ha), of which 70 million ha is

arid and semi-arid (including 11 million ha of deserts). The country has a great variety of landscapes

ranging from the high mountain ranges of the Himalayas, Karakoram and Hindu Kush (HKH region)

with interspersed valleys, and the vast rich irrigated Indus plain to the impressively rugged rocky

plateaus of Pothwar, Punjab and South West Balochistan.

The country has four distinct climate seasons. April, May and June are extremely hot and

dry months. July, August and September are hot and humid with intensive heat and scattered

rainfall. The cool and dry period starts at the beginning of October and continues through November.

December, January and February are the coldest months of the year. Due to the diversity of the

climate, a large variety of crops is grown to support the agricultural economy.

Water resources

Pakistan’s water resources include rainfall, surface water and groundwater. Rainfall is low

and irregular. Annual rainfall ranges from less than 100 mm in the south to about 1,500 mm in the

north on the southern slopes of the Himalayas. It generally decreases from the Himalayas towards

the south, with the lowest rainfall occurring in southern Punjab and upper Sindh. About 70 per cent

of the annual rainfall occurs from July to September (the monsoon period). This causes the loss of

most of the run-off to the sea without any economic benefit to the country.

The contribution of rain to crops in the irrigated areas (16 million ha) of the Indus basin has

been estimated to be 9.24 billion m3 or 7.55 million acre/feet. In non-irrigated areas (barani areas –

4 million ha) rainfall is utilized for rain-fed agriculture and meeting the drinking water needs of the

population and livestock. The contribution of rain to crops in the barani areas has been estimated

at 7.34 billion m3 (6 million acre/feet).

The surface water resources depend on the Indus River and the five major tributaries, the

Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi, Beas and Sutlej, on its eastern side. Since the Indus Basin Treaty between

India and Pakistan in 1960, the availability of water to Pakistan has become limited to the three

western rivers of Indus, Jhelum and Chenab, which provide about 173 billion m3 of water annually.

The Indus River

alone provides 65 per cent of the total river flow, while the share of the Jhelum and Chenab is 16

and 19 per cent, respectively. Rivers in Pakistan have individual flow characteristics but all of them

generally start to rise in the spring and early summer, with the monsoon rains and snow melt on the

mountains causing a combined peak discharge in July and August. The river flows are at their

minimum during winters, e.g., November to February, when the mean monthly flows are only about

one tenth of those in summer. In addition to the three major rivers, there are numerous small rivers

and streams that are only seasonal, with flow depending on rainfall and they carry practically no

water during the winter months.

Most of the groundwater resources exist in the almost 1,600 km-long Indus Plain, which extends from the Himalayan

foothills to the Arabian Sea and covering an area of 21 million ha. The water is stored in extensive and deep alluvial

deposits under unconfined conditions. This aquifer is fast becoming the supplemental source of water for irrigation. The quifer has been built due to direct recharge from natural precipitation, river flow and continued seepage from the conveyance system of canals, distributaries, watercourses and application losses in the irrigated lands during the past 90 years. Outside the Indus Plain, the groundwater resources are also available in inter-mountain valleys of Balochistan and North West Frontier Province (NWFP). The national groundwater potential is 81.6 billion m3

The water sector in Pakistan faces numerous issues, with the most prominent being:..

(a) Shortages of water due to inadequate storage facility;

(b) Mismanagement of water distribution, operation and maintenance of the irrigation network;

(c) Low productivity per unit of water;

(d) Non-adoption of efficient conservation technologies;

(e) Low irrigation efficiency;

(f) Water quality deterioration (inefficient disposal and handling);

(g) Over-pumping and groundwater mining;

(h) Mixing of fresh and saline aquifers with saltwater up-coning;

(i) Lack of legislation on groundwater utilization;

(j) Waterlogging and salinity including disposal of saline drainage effluents;

(k) Pollution and degradation of wetlands;

(l) Sedimentation of storage reservoirs;

(m) Lack of research on ice and snow hydrology;

(n) Non-participation of beneficiaries in project identification, development and management;

(o) A lack of coordination among research and development agencies; and

(p) A lack of public awareness and education about water conservation.

Demon-ocracy

This is the actual transcript suspending President's order of appointing judges:

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF PAKISTAN

(ORIGINAL JURISDICTION)

PRESENT:
Mr. Justice Mian Shakirullah Jan
Mr. Justice Raja Fayyaz Ahmed
Mr. Justice Jawwad S. Khawaja

Constitution Petitions No. 2, 3 & 4 of 2010

Petitioner (s)
Nadeem Ahmed Advocate (in Const.P.2/2010)
Khadim Nadeem Malik (in Const.P.3/2010)
Watan Party,etc. (in Const.P.4/2010)

vs

Respondent(s)
Federation of Pakistan etc.

On Court’s call: Qazi Sajid Mehmood, Additional Registrar

Date of hearing: 13.02.2010

ORDER

1. Today two notifications, one relating to the appointment of Mr. Justice Khawaja Muhammad Sharif, Chief Justice of the Lahore High Court as a Judge of the Supreme Court and the other with regard to the appointment of Mr. Justice Mian Saqib Nisar, Senior Puisne Judge of the Lahore High Court as Acting Chief Justice of that Court have been issued by the Government of Pakistan, Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Division under the signatures of Malik Hakam Khan, Draftsman/Additional Secretary. The said notifications read as under: –

“No.F.2(1)/2010-A.II.- In exercise of the powers conferred by Article 177 of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, the President is pleased to appoint Mr. Justice Khawaja Muhammad Sharif, Chief Justice of Lahore High Court as Judge of the Supreme Court of Pakistan with immediate effect.

No.F.1(2)/2009-A.II.- In exercise of the powers conferred by Article 196 of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, the President is pleased to appoint Mr. Justice Mian Saqib Nisar, Judge, Lahore High Court as Acting Chief Justice of the said High Court with effect from the date of the notification of the appointment of Mr. Justice Khawaja Muhammad Sharif, Chief Justice of Lahore High Court as Judge of the Supreme Court of Pakistan.”

2. The Additional Registrar, who appeared on Court’s call, informed the Court that a news was telecast in the electronic media regarding the aforesaid notifications and it was also in the news that Mr. Justice Mian Saqib Nisar would be administered oath by tomorrow morning (Sunday), which necessitated the hearing of this case as an urgent one and this Bench was constituted. Since it was an important matter, the Additional Registrar was directed to issue notice to the learned Attorney General including through telephone and we retired for a while until we were informed about the service of the notice upon the learned Attorney General. After some time we were informed by the Court Associate that the Additional Registrar, after informing the learned Attorney General through telephone about the hearing of the case had come to the Court, so we re-assembled.

3. The Additional Registrar, in his report stated that he informed the learned Attorney General for Pakistan through telephone who told him (Additional Registrar) that he was in Karachi at the moment and that the last scheduled flight from Karachi to Islamabad had already departed at 7:00 p.m., he expressed his inability to appear before the Court. Since the matter was of urgent nature, as stated earlier, steps would be required to be taken by the Governor of the Punjab to administer oath to Mr. Justice Mian Saqib Nisar as Acting Chief Justice of the Lahore High Court by tomorrow morning, hearing could not be postponed without passing an appropriate interim order.

4. Article 177 of the Constitution of Islamic Republic of Pakistan provides that a Judge of the Supreme Court shall be appointed by the President after consultation with the Chief Justice of Pakistan. The Additional Registrar stated that according to the record of this Court no consultation had taken place by the President with the Hon’ble Chief Justice of Pakistan regarding the appointment of Mr. Justice Khawaja Muhammad Sharif, Chief Justice of the Lahore High Court as Judge of the Supreme Court. In the light of the statement of Additional Registrar and also the note submitted by him and placed on the file of Constitution Petitions No.2, 3 and 4 of 2010 relating to the same/almost the same matter, already pending before this Court in which notices had been issued and a larger Bench constituted for 18-2-2010, the notification of the appointment of Mr. Justice Khawaja Muhammad Sharif as a Judge of the Supreme Court, prima facie, appears to have been issued in violation of the provisions of the Constitution, particularly, Article 177, hence the same is suspended subject to notice to the Federation of Pakistan through Secretary, Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Division, the Attorney General for Pakistan and the learned Advocate General Punjab. Mr. Justice Khawaja Muhammad Sharif shall continue to perform his duties as Chief Justice of the Lahore High Court until further orders of this Court. No steps to administer oath to him will be taken.

5. In view of the suspension of notification No.F.2(1)2010-A.II. dated 13.2.2010 regarding the appointment of Mr. Justice Khawaja Muhammad Sharif as a Judge of the Supreme Court, the office of Chief Justice of Lahore High Court will not fall vacant, therefore, the second notification No.F.1(2)/2009-A.II of even date regarding the appointment of Mr. Justice Mian Saqib Nisar as Acting Chief Justice of the Lahore High Court cannot be acted upon. Therefore, the same too is suspended. In consequence, Mr. Justice Mian Saqib Nisar will also continue to perform his duties as a Judge of the Lahore High Court until further orders. Resultantly, no steps including administering of oath to Mr. Justice Mian Saqib Nisar as Acting Chief Justice of Lahore High Court shall be taken by the concerned functionaries.

6. The Draftsman/Additional Secretary, Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs, under whose signatures the aforesaid notifications have been issued, is directed to appear in Court on 18.02.2010, the date already fixed in the titled cases. The Registrar of the Lahore High Court shall also appear on the said date.

Mr. Justice Mian Shakirullah Jan
Mr. Justice Raja Fayyaz Ahmed
Mr. Justice Jawwad S. Khawaja

Islamabad, the
13th February, 2010
M.Ali/*

There they go again.

After 3 weeks of staying out of my home town karachi, I am back. I have seen freezing temperatures in lahore. not just cold, but seriously cold :) Fog was thick, flights were regularly canceled and thus i traveled through my favorite joyrides; Rail. Watching whatever visible green fields i could through fog, i saw the landscape of Pakistan again. I am in love with my country, Again!

As i came back,

Karachi was already engulfed with target killing, political instability, diplomatic black mailing, and all sort of power struggle, resulting in the deaths of those innocent citizens who were reported to be not involved in anything. Some say before the differences between two major political parties over Local body government and administrative re-appointments was to be solved at the tables, it was a final show down of their respective street power. I was not in Karachi when the bullets were fired, but i know its "the streets" where the power struggle has always remained decisive. Any way; who fired?, Who

died? Why were they killed? That has never been important here. Its a city living on its own principles, norms, and agendas. The day i was doing my last radio show from lahore, Karachi was shaken by yet another series of twin bombings, resulting in the death of 27 and more than 100 injuries.

Sheikh Rasheed came under fire yesterday, in front of his election office, as he is preparing to contest by-elections from NA-55. Four died, he was safe. Who shot at the dog? No clue! And blaming PML (N) is not just stupid, shocking but actually non sense. Argument is; since they govern Punjab so its their failure. Excuse me, what about taking responsibility for the rest of the country?

Sarah Palin is being ridiculed on the media for cheating to an interview question by reading from a note written on her palm. I can hear Zardari speaking to himself in the capital....

"Thank God she didn't cheat from the same hand, i shook with her"

"Otherwise....

.....people in my country would still blame me for passing on to her....... The cheating germs"

Karachi's tense air is addictive and the thing which i missed most in Lahore was....

The rascalous snap checking of Karachi police :)

Since my first ever print interview is published in the country's most famous Women Digest;

i can now be certified as a ladies man.

The pages from khawateen Digest can be accessed here:

http://www.pkdigest.com/gallery/main.php?g2_itemId=35778