Protests Disrupt Sindh as Canal Project Dispute Intensifies

The demonstration at Khairpur Baberlo bypass, protesting against the debated canal initiative, has entered its eleventh day, resulting in suspended traffic between Sindh and Punjab. Concurrently, the protest near Daharki on the National Highway, specifically at Mangrio Pump, persists for its ninth day.

Additional sit-ins are occurring in Kamo Shaheed, Obaro, and Gola Mor, Kandhkot, significantly impeding traffic flow connecting Sindh and Balochistan. Lengthy vehicle queues have been observed on vital transportation routes.

The Cholistan Canals issue has become a central disagreement between the Sindh government, led by the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), and the federal government, headed by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.

The federal government’s proposal involves constructing six canals on the Indus River to provide irrigation to the Cholistan desert. This plan faces opposition from the PPP, a key ally, and various Sindh nationalist parties.

Government sources indicate that the Cholistan canal and system project carries an estimated cost of Rs211.4 billion. The initiative aims to repurpose thousands of acres of arid land for agricultural activities, potentially cultivating 400,000 acres.

Widespread rallies have been organised across Sindh by almost all political and religious parties, nationalist groups, and civil society organisations, all protesting the controversial project.

Despite the scheduled Council of Common Interests (CCI) meeting on May 2, called after the Centre’s decision to postpone the project due to strong opposition from the PPP, protests continue throughout the province, involving lawyers, political parties, and other community segments.

The ongoing demonstrations include sit-ins at two locations in Ghotki, with lawyers’ protests entering their sixth day on the National Highway near the Punjab border.

In Karachi, a sit-in involving lawyers and other protestors continues on Gulshan-e-Hadid Link Road, leading to the closure of both tracks to and from the National Highway, according to traffic authorities. Traffic bound for Thatta is being redirected towards the Port Qasim roundabout.

At Karachi’s City Court, lawyers are maintaining their protest against the canal project, keeping the gates closed to the public for another day. Only lawyers are permitted entry. Protesting lawyers have affirmed that the sit-in will continue until the canal construction notification is revoked. However, regular judicial activities are ongoing at the Sindh High Court.

Following incidents of baton charges and tear gas used by police against demonstrators in Malir, Kandhkot, and Padidan, protests have spread to other cities such as Hyderabad, Thatta, Dadu, Matiari, Hala, and Nawabshah. Lawyers and political groups have organised demonstrations to condemn the police actions.

Additionally, the Lawyers Action Committee has announced the suspension of Sindh’s Law Minister Zia Lanjar’s membership from the Sindh Bar Council.

Senior Sindh Minister Sharjeel Memon addressed the situation, assuring that the contested canals issue would be resolved permanently during the Council of Common Interests (CCI) meeting on May 2. He appealed to political parties and legal professionals to cease their sit-ins and reopen the blocked roads.