Jamaat-i-Islami Pakistan naib emir Liaquat Baloch has said Sindh has legitimate right over its natural resources and stressed the need for a “national agriculture policy” for the country to resolve issues of food security. The Water Apportionment Accord should be implemented in letter and spirit to ensure judicious distribution of water among all stakeholders, said Baloch at ‘Zaraat conference’ organised by Al Khidmat here the other day. He said the government should pay serious attention to growers’ issues and regretted that flood-hit people had not been rehabilitated in Sindh despite passage of over half a year to the rain and flood calamity.
He said that his party stood for social justice for all. Sindh was a land of peace where hate driven ethnic politics was deliberately promoted. There was administrative chaos because of lack of accountability, he said.
He called for establishing rule of law and constitution in the country. Government’s policies should be based on research so that they could lead to increase in per acre productivity. There was dire need of ensuring availability of inexpensive farm inputs, ensuring judicious distribution of water and rationalising electricity tariff, he said.
Baloch deplored the fact that water accord existed but it was not implemented. The installation of telemetry system should be ensured to conserve and regulate water for irrigation, he said.
He said the growers were present in assemblies as well but they did not pay attention to issues of farm sector for their own vested interests. Since agriculture had become a provincial subject after the passage of 18th amendment, the provincial governments would have to ensure adequate price for farm products, he said.
He said that judicious distribution of natural resources could not be ensued for last 75 years. The country had always approached IMF and World Bank although “we could have got rid of them”.
He said that supremacy of constitution and law would have to be ensured and political parties, institutions and leaders would have to be made subservient to the law.
