Indus River System Authority Act, 1992

This 1992 law establishes the Indus River System Authority (IRSA), the body responsible for regulating and monitoring how water from the Indus River system is distributed among Pakistan's provinces, in line with the 1991 Water Accord signed by the provinces. Section 3 creates IRSA as a body corporate with perpetual succession, able to own property and sue or be sued.

Section 4 sets out IRSA's composition: five members, one nominated by each of the four provinces and one by the Federal Government, all senior irrigation or engineering professionals. The Chairmanship rotates, starting with Balochistan's nominee, then North-West Frontier Province, Punjab, Sindh, and the Federal Government's nominee, in that order; the Chairman serves a one-year term, and other members serve three years and can be reappointed. Section 6 lets the Federal Government remove a Chairman or member, after a hearing and in consultation with the relevant province, for incapacity, insolvency, or a conviction involving moral turpitude.

Section 8 lists IRSA's core duties: setting the basis for distributing surface water among provinces per the Water Accord, reviewing river and reservoir operations, coordinating data exchange with the Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA), prioritising irrigation and hydropower needs, compiling provincial water-withdrawal requests and issuing binding release directives to WAPDA, resolving inter-provincial water disputes, and reviewing water availability against provincial shares. Disputes within the Authority are decided by majority vote, with the Chairman holding a casting vote, and a province or WAPDA aggrieved by an IRSA decision can refer the matter to the Council of Common Interests.

Section 9 establishes an Advisory Committee including IRSA's members plus senior irrigation and agriculture officials from the provinces, which must meet at the start of each Kharif and Rabi cropping season. Section 15 requires IRSA to submit Water Account Reports after each cropping season and an annual report on its affairs. Sections 16 to 20 cover IRSA's funding through government grants, loans, and other receipts, its accounting, and annual audit by the Auditor-General of Pakistan. Section 13 gives IRSA staff public-servant status and legal immunity for good-faith actions.