{"id":60070779,"date":"2025-02-18T15:39:13","date_gmt":"2025-02-18T15:39:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/?p=60070779"},"modified":"2025-02-26T12:46:41","modified_gmt":"2025-02-26T12:46:41","slug":"zulfikar-ali-bhutto-interview-our-water-has-been-taken-hostage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/water\/zulfikar-ali-bhutto-interview-our-water-has-been-taken-hostage\/","title":{"rendered":"Zulfikar Ali Bhutto interview: \u2018Our water has been taken hostage\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

On a crisp Karachi morning I meet Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Jr; he is calm, approachable, and dressed in an equally crisp white shalwar kameez <\/em>(a traditional South and Central Asian outfit). In his office, at Fateh Point Archives<\/a>, 71 Clifton, he is surrounded by rare photographs of the Bhutto family and an eclectic selection of books \u2013 his aunt Benazir Bhutto\u2019s autobiography, Daughter of the East, contrasts with Arnold Schwarzenegger\u2019s New Encyclopedia of Modern Bodybuilding. (Bhutto casually explains he is \u201cinto bodybuilding\u201d.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A house of symbols and struggles<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The road leading to this address is flanked by a giant poster of Bhutto Jr\u2019s father, the late Mir Murtaza Bhutto. The politician was assassinated near this residence in 1996, after a confrontation with the police. Outside, the walls of the family home are covered<\/a> in symbols of identity and resistance: a Sindhi-language alphabet; a map of Sindh with the Indus River flowing through it; a Palestinian map and flag; a picture of the Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem; and a clenched fist above an unsheathed sword, painted onto the main gate. The message is clear: this is a space where history and defiance converge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"a<\/div>
Zulfikar Ali Bhutto in conversation with Dialogue Earth in his office at 71 Clifton, the renowned Bhutto home in Karachi (Image: Farahnaz Zahidi \/ Dialogue Earth)<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

An artist, environmentalist and activist, Bhutto Jr is named after his grandfather, the former Pakistani president, and then prime minister, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. Through his environmental organisation, Bulhan Bachao<\/a><\/em> (Save the Bulhan in Sindhi), he works to protect<\/a> the Indus River and the endangered<\/a>, blind Indus River dolphin (the bulhan). \u201cWe\u2019re so lucky to have one of the rarest freshwater marine mammals surviving in a river that\u2019s so stressed, heavily exploited and dying,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His affinity with the bulhan is more than symbolic \u2013 he proudly reveals a tattoo of the animal. \u201cIt\u2019s a beautiful, delicate, shy, obscure survivor. For me, it\u2019s a symbol of resilience. It\u2019s an integral part of my faith to fight for its survival. It embodies the struggles of the Sindhi people; both depend on the Indus for their existence.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"a<\/div>
Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Jr (seated, second from right) in 2006, aged 15, at a dolphin rescue operation conducted by the Sindh Wildlife Department in collaboration with WWF (Image: Bangul Channa)<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Damned if they do, damned if they don\u2019t<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Recently, Bhutto has been part of protests against the controversial Six Canals Project. He strongly opposes the development, calling it a potential disaster for Sindh\u2019s already scarce water resources. Bhutto repeats his warnings to me: \u201cIt will lead to starvation and possibly famine. With climate change already reducing water availability, we are more reliant than ever on the little that remains.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He says the project will exacerbate water shortages, threaten agricultural livelihoods and lead to environmental degradation. His statements have resonated with many in downstream Sindh, where fears are growing<\/a> that the province\u2019s water rights are being overlooked in favour of upstream Punjab. Both ruling and opposition parties in Sindh have voiced concerns over the project\u2019s long-term impact.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>
Recommended<\/span><\/span><\/div><\/a>\n\n\n\n

The federal government plans to build the canals off the Indus River, in Punjab, to irrigate the Cholistan Desert in the south of the province. But the people of Sindh, already suffering from chronic water shortages, fear this will further deplete their share. The concern is real: Pakistan\u2019s Meteorological Department reported a 52% drop<\/a> in rainfall in Sindh between September 2024 and mid-January 2025. The Indus provides close to 90%<\/a> of Pakistan\u2019s agricultural water.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cStatistically speaking, there\u2019s no possible way that they can hold that much water and redistribute it upstream to Cholistan<\/a>. By the time it reaches Cholistan, evaporation, seepage and outright theft will have depleted it,\u201d Bhutto argues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All major political parties in Sindh, including the ruling Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), oppose<\/a> the Six Canals Project. However, opposition leaders accuse<\/a> the PPP of not doing enough to protect Sindh\u2019s water interests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mid-conversation, Bhutto suddenly rises, his gaze fixing on a slightly askew frame. He strides over, adjusting it with practiced precision, before stepping back to assess his work. \u201cIs it straight now?\u201d he asks, his brow furrowed, revealing a quiet preoccupation with order.

Looking at the history of water developments in Sindh, Bhutto references British colonial interventions in water-scarce areas. \u201cThey decided to produce rice in Larkana, where there had never been rice. Prior to construction of the Sukkur barrage<\/a>, rice was grown in Thatta<\/a>, because it had access to more water from the delta. But the British killed the delta. Now look at Thatta\u2019s land: salt-ridden and infertile. Some 60-75%<\/a> of water withdrawn is lost in Sindh, due to evaporation or seepage into saline groundwater,\u201d he says. Over time, Bhutto adds, minerals build up and the land becomes unproductive. \u201cWe are left with saline and waterlogged land, in which many native trees and crops can\u2019t grow. Large parts of northern Sindh have been rendered inarable due to these experiments with water.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bhutto warns Cholistan could suffer the same fate. \u201cI would potentially buy into this if the project was benefiting landless farmers, but it doesn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"a<\/div>
Members of Sindh Abadgar Ittehad, a farmers unity group, at a protest in Hyderabad, November 2024. The group is against the construction of new canals in Punjab, which will divert water from the Indus River. Sindh Abadgar Ittehad warns of worsening water shortages and threats to agriculture (Image: Pakistan Press International \/ Alamy)<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Tensions between Sindh and Punjab over water<\/a> are not new. Data from the Indus River System Authority shows Sindh faced a 40%<\/a> water shortage between 1999 and 2023. Bhutto believes the government should focus on managing smaller seasonal rivers, instead of overburdening the Indus: \u201cThe floods showed us that we have so much potential for water storage outside of the Indus mainstream.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pakistan has so many dams \u2013 150! That\u2019s more than most developed countries. The idea that dams equal progress is a myth.<\/blockquote><\/cite><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

When asked about the Diamer Bhasha Dam<\/a>, Bhutto is sceptical. While it could have a modest positive impact, he says the country already has enough dams. \u201cPakistan has so many dams \u2013 150! That\u2019s more than most developed countries. The idea that dams equal progress is a myth. While a dam may provide things like energy and mass hydropower \u2026 over time they silt up.\u201d He gives Sukkur as an example, where the riverbed has risen so high that floods<\/a> are now common. There was a time when you could see the steps leading up to the Sadh Belo<\/a> temple. Now, water laps at the top of the stairs.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to Bhutto, \u201cbuilding dams is about optics. It\u2019s a way to spend money quickly where it\u2019s not needed.\u201d He stops for a moment, before launching into a tirade against the entrenched mindset of policymakers who see mega-projects as the only solution to water management. \u201cWe need to think more creatively. Why are we, as a nation, so intellectually stunted that we can only think of this one monster \u2013 the dam? This is how Sindh is sabotaged. Our water has been taken hostage from us. It\u2019s leveraged constantly, and the threat of less water coming to us has been a threat since the inception of Pakistan.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Too many dams, too little land<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Among Bhutto\u2019s perceived priorities for Pakistan is the need for land reforms. \u201cIt should make people ill to think that in a country as poor as ours, billions of rupees are being spent on a project that benefits less than 0.5% of the population. Surely, if you\u2019re going to spend so much, it should be for the betterment of the poor. But the poor are going to be expected to do what they\u2019ve always done, which is work for nothing for someone who couldn\u2019t care less about them.\u201d His tone is laced with frustration and irony.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bhutto says his haris<\/em> (farmers) are also deserving of land ownership. \u201cA farmer needs to have security that the land that he works on is in fact his \u2013 in his name, in his child’s name \u2013 and that no one is going to come take it. Reforms<\/a> that guarantee that farmers are seen as human beings, as malik <\/em>[owners] and not just nokar<\/em> [servants]. My grandfather gave up<\/a> a significant portion of his land to haris<\/em> in Sindh,\u201d he claims.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>
Recommended<\/span><\/span><\/div><\/a>\n\n\n\n

As a member of Pakistan\u2019s premier political dynasty, Bhutto is aware of the weight his words carry: \u201cWhen I speak, it lands differently. I can’t help that, and I’m not naive about it. I use my voice for what matters.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On Pakistan\u2019s climate response, he is blunt: the country \u2013 like much of the world \u2013 does little more than pay lip service: \u201cLook at the Loss and Damage Fund from COP27<\/a>. More than two years later, people displaced<\/a> by the 2022 floods remain homeless\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What should Pakistan and others do? While he acknowledges richer nations are \u201cresponsible for more emissions<\/a>\u201d, Bhutto urges local action, too. In particular, the restoration of the Indus River\u2019s natural course, to ensure its waters reach Sindh\u2019s parched lands. \u201cMake the river flow to the sea.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A new generation\u2019s fight for water, power and resistance in Pakistan, and why Sindh\u2019s survival depends on resisting mega-projects<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20000074,"featured_media":60070797,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[50039903],"tags":[50040314,50040720,20000054],"hashtags":[],"country":[20000112],"class_list":["post-60070779","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-water","tag-dams","tag-geopolitics","tag-indus","country-pakistan"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nZulfikar Ali Bhutto interview: \u2018Our water has been taken hostage\u2019 | Dialogue Earth<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A new generation\u2019s fight for water, power and resistance in Pakistan, and why Sindh\u2019s survival depends on resisting mega-projects\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, 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