PPP to hold Sindh-wide protests against disputed canals project

KARACHI: The Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) has announced a province-wide protest movement against the controversial six canals project, with rallies and demonstrations scheduled across Sindh on March 25. 

PPP Sindh President Senator Nisar Ahmad Khuhro said that protest rallies and demonstrations would be held at all district headquarters, while public meetings and street protests would also take place in Karachi. “The six canals project is illegal and should not be constructed.”

Khuhro vowed that the party would resist the project through all constitutional forums, legislative bodies, and street protests.

He claimed that the project had not been approved by any constitutional authority and accused the Punjab government of allocating funds for the canals in an unconstitutional move.

“The construction of the Cholistan canals and the allocation of funds for it by the federal and Punjab governments are illegal acts,” he added. 

The PPP leader further declared that the party would not allow anyone to divert water from the Indus River and urged the people of Sindh to unite against the project.

“We regret that other political parties have not staged rallies against the canals, but the PPP is ready for a joint struggle,” he said, adding that the party would reach out to political parties, lawyers, and civil society leaders for support. 

Comparing the project to the controversial Kalabagh Dam, Khuhro warned that it would leave Sindh barren. “Just as the PML-N government had to abandon the Kalabagh Dam, it will have to withdraw from the six canals project as well.”

Meanwhile, Khuhro alleged that a conspiracy was being hatched to oust the democratic government and replace it with a national government.

He pointed to statements from PTI leader Fawad Chaudhry, who had hinted at such a move. “There is an attempt to push the PPP out of the equation to pave the way for a national government,” he claimed.