Protests continue in Sindh against Pakistan government’s canal project on River Indus

The sit-in at Khairpur Baberlo bypass against the canal project on the Indus River in Pakistan entered its 11th day on Monday, disrupting traffic between Sindh and Punjab. Meanwhile, the protest at Mangrio Pump near Daharki on the National Highway has continued for the ninth consecutive day, Geo News reported.

Sit-ins were also held at Kamo Shaheed in Obaro and Gola Mor in Kandhkot, disrupting traffic between Sindh and Balochistan. Long queues of vehicles were reported on key routes. The Cholistan Canals issue has become a point of difference between the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP)- led Sindh government and the Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif-led federal government.

The federal government plans to build six canals on the Indus River to irrigate the Cholistan desert — a project rejected by PPP and other Sindh nationalist parties.

According to government sources, the estimated cost of the Cholistan canal and system is worth Pakistani Rupees (PKR) 211.4 billion. Through the project, thousands of acres of barren land can be used for agricultural purposes, and 400,000 acres of land can be brought under cultivation.

Almost all political and religious parties, nationalist groups and civil society organisations held rallies in Sindh against the plan. A meeting of the Council of Common Interests (CCI) is scheduled for May 2 after the Centre decides to put the project on the back burner after facing opposition from PPP and as lawyers, other political parties and other segments of the society continue to grip the province.

The demonstrations include protests at two places in Ghotki, and a lawyers’ sit-in continues for a sixth day on the National Highway on Sindh’s border with Punjab.

Meanwhile, lawyers and other demonstrators continue to hold a sit-in on Gulshan-e-Hadid Link Road in Karachi, where both tracks leading to and from the National Highway have been shut for traffic, according to the traffic police. Traffic moving towards Thatta from Karachi is being diverted towards the Port Qasim roundabout, Geo News reported.

Lawyers continued their protest against the canal project in Karachi’s City Court, keeping the gates shut for litigants for yet another day. The protesting lawyers have said that the sit-in will continue until the notification saying the construction of canals has been withdrawn. However, judicial proceedings at the Sindh High Court continue to be ongoing as per routine.

Protests have been held across other cities, including Dadu, Matiari, Hala, Hyderabad, Thatta and Nawabshah, after incidents of baton charges and tear gas shelling by police against protesters in Malir, Kandhkot, and Padidan. In response, lawyers and political parties have held demonstrations across these regions to criticise police action.

Furthermore, Geo News reported that the Lawyers Action Committee has announced the suspension of Sindh’s Law Minister Zia Lanjar’s membership in the Sindh Bar Council.

Senior Sindh Minister Sharjeel Memon said that the disputed canals issue would be permanently resolved at the CCI meeting scheduled for May 2. He urged all political parties and the legal fraternity to end their sit-ins and reopen the blocked roads.