Pak's water commissioner an Indian agent: JuD

The outlawed Jamaat-ud-Dawah on Monday described Pakistan's Indus Waters Commissioner Jamaat Ali Shah as an 'Indian agent' after he dismissed the widespread impression that India is 'stealing' Pakistan's share of river waters.

Senior JuD leader Abdul Rehman Makki chided Shah and said his statement had weakened the case of 180 million Pakistanis. "He (Shah) is trying to bail out India over the water issue and the people of Pakistan are not convinced about what he is saying," Makki said.

During a recent seminar at the Punjab University, Shah had said that India is 'not stealing our water'.

He also said the low inflow in rivers in Pakistan was due to climate change. Pakistan had not 'lost the case' of Baglihar dam and instead its reservations about the project had been accepted by India, Shah had said.

"We have raised objections to the construction of the Chutak and Nimmo Bazgo dams by India," he said. India had accepted objections against the Chutak project but it did not accept those related to Nimmo Bazgo, he added.

"Pakistan reserves the right to go in for arbitration against Indian violations (of the Indus Waters Treaty)," Shah had said.

In recent months, the JuD, blamed by India for masterminding the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, has organised several rallies to mobilise people across Pakistan against the alleged 'stealing' of Pakistan's share of river water by India.

"The whole nation is ready to wage a war against India on the water issue. Pakistanis will prefer to fight against India instead of dying of hunger," Makki said.

"India is not only making dams on the water of Pakistani rivers but also on its streams and water channels," he claimed.

The Pakistan government has appointed people in the Indus Waters Commission who would not dare raise their voice against India, he further claimed.