PM appoints IRSA chairman despite provinces’ objection

ISLAMABAD: The federal government has forged ahead with the implementation of the Indus River System Authority (IRSA) Amendment Ordinance, disregarding objections from all four provinces, including Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has sanctioned the appointment of Zafar Mahmood, a retired grade 22 bureaucrat, as the chairman of IRSA under the amended ordinance.

A notification from the Prime Minister’s Office in Islamabad confirms Mahmood’s appointment.

The caretaker federal government introduced numerous amendments to the IRSA Act through an ordinance shortly before its tenure concluded.

A key amendment stripped the provinces of their authority to appoint the IRSA chairman, granting the prime minister the power to directly appoint retired grade 21/22 officers instead of provincial nominees.

Previously, the chairman of IRSA was appointed through rotational selection from the five-member board comprising representatives from all four provinces and the federal government.

Despite objections from all provinces, including Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, asserting that the direct appointment of the IRSA chairman without the approval of the Council of Common Interests is illegal, the federal government proceeded with the appointment.