Before the canal water crisis has taken an ugly turn, the Indus River System Authority (IRSA) reacted immediately and announced formal closure of three Canals in Punjab to divert water to Sindh and Balochistan Provinces in the downstream where the crisis was more serious and acute. The Sindh Chief Minister, Syed Murad Ali Shah, extended a strong warning to the Federal Government, Management of Tarbela and Mangla Dams, the Ministry of Water and Power for their irresponsible behaviour for ignoring the basic needs of Sindh and Balochistan allowing Punjab to fleece the water resources with impunity.  It was unacceptable to discriminate the two strategic provinces of Sindh and Balochistan by denying them of their legitimate share in the canal water resources from the Indus River System. The IRSA acted immediately and announced closure of three major canals in the Punjab to ensure legitimate water supply to the two end recipients of the canal system.  IRSA officials said that Sindh would get additional 4000 to 5000 cusecs of canal water from the Indus River System to ensure water supply to tail-enders. IRSA and the Federal Government had heeded the complaint from the Sindh Chief Minister, the highest authority from Sindh ignoring such protests from Balochistan when the Provincial Parliament passed a strong resolution condemning the denial of water to two major irrigation canals of Pat Feeder and the Kirthar Canal. The Resolution was passed unanimously. Later on the IRSA conceded and increased the water supply to the two canals—the Pat Feeder and the Kirthar Canal. Pat Feeder is supported to get 6000 cusecs of water to irrigate more than 0.7 million acres of highly fertile land. Now the water supply is slashed to the level of mere 2500 cusecs. The Kirthar Canal is getting 700 cusecs of water instead of 1400 cusecs.

Both the canals in Balochistan are the backbone of the agrarian economy of Balochistan ensuring necessary food supply from the Canal Irrigated Division. A single valley of Kachhi has more than seven million acres of highly fertile land for cultivation, Balochistan demanded construction of Kachhi Canal to irrigate a part of that valley. The Kachhi Canal plan was prepared during the days of NAP Government under Sardar Ataullah Mengal and the then Governor Mir Ghous Bakhsh Bizenjo sought share of water from the Indus River System to irrigate the land through the Kachhi Canal. Under the 1991 Water Apportionment Accords concluded under the supervision of Shahbaz Sharif and Nawab Zulfiqar Ali Magsi, Balochistan was allowed a share of 10,000 cusecs of additional water. After this decision, the Kachhi Canal construction was planned to irrigate around 0.7 million acres of land in the Kachhi Plains. Now 26 years passed, the authorities have failed to complete the first phase of canal. There were reports in the national media that the quality of construction is much below the specifications, it is sub-standard and low quality material was used in building the canal with the consent of officials from WAPDA, the Ministry of Water and Power, Islamabad. Leaders of public opinion had strongly censured the Government for building a defective canal for voiceless Balochistan which had no representation in the Federal Administration. The Provincial Government should not accept a defective and faulty canal. In addition to that, the cost of construction escalated wildly because of the inordinate delay. Originally the Kachhi Canal should have been completed with a cost of Rs 50 billion. Now its cost had escalated to Rs 120 billion and no time limit is fixed to complete it. Earlier, the WAPDA had handed over a defective canal—the Pat Feeder—that is causing water seepage in the downstream in the desert areas of Shahpur in the Bugti mainland. The canal water seepage is massive and said to be close to 300 cusecs of canal water. As a result, more than two hundred thousand acres of land had become waterlogged and completely destroyed. To this date, WAPDA and Ministry of Water and Power failed to line that portion of canal to plug the water seepage and reclaim 300 cusecs of precious canal water and also the two hundred thousands of highly fertile land in the downstream in Sohbatpur area.