Pakistan Peoples Party’s Sindh President Nisar Ahmed Khuhro in a statement on Sunday said that “the federal government should immediately announce its withdrawal from the controversial canal project.”
Sindh has been grappling with a severe water crisis for many years, exacerbated by inadequate federal support and mismanagement. The province’s irrigation system is under strain, with acute water shortages impacting agriculture and daily life. Sindh’s grievances include the federal government’s failure to ensure equitable water distribution, leading to disputes over water rights and allocation.
Khuro’s comments came after PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari on Saturday criticised the federal government’s “unilateral approach” to water resource management, calling for consensus-driven policies to avoid controversy. Bilawal had highlighted concerns over recent decisions to construct canals, likening them to the contentious Kalabagh Dam project.
Echoing the PPP chairman’s sentiments, Khuro said in the statement today, “If there is no additional water, where will the water be brought to the new canals?”
He added that the province of Sindh was not being given its due share of water under the 1991 Water Accord.
“Sindh strongly objects to the fact that the Chashma-Jhelum Link Canal and TP-Link Canals will be continuously drained to take Sindh’s water and that water will be released into new canals,” Khuhro added.
Sindh does not accept the plan for new canals, he concluded on the issue.
Khuhro also talked about the issue of gas loadshedding in the province, and said there was a “demand from the federal government that Sindh should be provided with its share of gas under the constitution.”
He declared the severe gas load shedding and low gas pressure in Sindh was a violation of Article 158 of the Constitution.
“Under Article 158 of the Constitution, it is mandatory that the needs of the province from which gas is produced should be met first,” he said.
He also rejected the decision of the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) to increase gas prices by 25 per cent, calling on Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to review the decision.
Earlier in the month, Sindh Information Minister Sharjeel Inam Memon had said that the ongoing problem of gas load-shedding in Sindh had reached an “alarming level”.
He had said people were facing severe hardships due to the gas scarcity, which was adversely impacting daily life and industrial activities.
Meanwhile, PM Shehbaz on Friday directed authorities to ensure an uninterrupted gas supply to domestic consumers during the winter season without delay.
