Qureshi Criticizes PPP’s Stance on Cholistan Canals Project

• “PPP knew that project featured six canals when it was approved”.
• Qureshi asks why PPP did not speak when Irsa issued certificate.
• Says canals’ construction underway in six districts for long time.

LAHORE: Shah Mahmood Qureshi, a prominent leader of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), has voiced strong criticism against the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) regarding their position on the controversial Cholistan canals project. Qureshi accused the Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari-led party of displaying “crocodile tears” over the matter.

During a media interaction while appearing in a case related to the Jinnah House and Askari Tower attack concerning the May 9 riots of 2023, Qureshi questioned the PPP’s silence, stating, “The PPP knew that the project featured six canals when it was approved. Why did the PPP not speak up when the Indus River System Authority (Irsa) issued a certificate of water availability?”

The core of the issue revolves around the federal government’s plan to construct six canals on the Indus River, aimed at irrigating the Cholistan desert. This project has faced rejection from the PPP, a key ally in the government, as well as various Sindh nationalist parties.

Government sources estimate the Cholistan canal and system project to cost Rs211.4 billion. The project aims to transform thousands of acres of barren land into cultivable areas, potentially bringing 400,000 acres under cultivation.

Qureshi, a former member of the PPP, highlighted that Bilawal’s party only began protesting the project after demonstrations emerged in Sindh, led by other parties and factions.

“Work on the canal construction project had been going on in six districts for a long time. No one spoke at that time when land was being acquired for the construction of canals,” Qureshi remarked, questioning the PPP chairman’s activities in Dubai while protests against the project were taking place in Sindh.

These remarks are set against the backdrop of widespread rallies organized by almost all political and religious parties, nationalist groups, and civil society organizations across Sindh, all opposing the controversial plan.

The PPP, led by Bilawal, has consistently expressed reservations about the project. President Asif Ali Zardari has cautioned the government that certain unilateral policies are placing “grave strain” on the federation.

The project has sparked a verbal back-and-forth between the PPP and the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) led Punjab government. The latter claims that President Zardari had previously approved the project, a claim strongly refuted by the PPP.

Bilawal has warned that his party will not allow any “irresponsible decision” on water distribution and will resist any attempt to divide the country through controversial projects. In response, Deputy PM Ishaq Dar has assured the PPP that Sindh’s rightful share of water will not be affected by the project.

Amid the uproar in Sindh by the PPP and other nationalist parties, PM Shehbaz’s Adviser on Public and Political Affairs Rana Sanaullah has described the opposition to the Cholistan canals as “pointless.” He stated that the matter will be discussed in a serious environment in the future and resolved through consensus.

The PM’s aide further reassured that the federal government would not take any unilateral action regarding the project.