The government on Thursday announced that it was halting the contentious canals project until a consensus on the issue could be reached in the Council of Common Interests (CCI) amid opposition from many quarters in the country and uncertainty created by India’s unilateral suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT).
Chief of the Army Staff Gen Asim Munir and Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz inaugurated the ambitious Cholistan project to irrigate south Punjab’s lands on February 15 amid public uproar and strong reservations in Sindh. The Sindh Assembly also passed a unanimous resolution against the project in March.
The past few months have seen nationwide protests from political parties, including the ruling coalition ally PPP, and residents against the proposed project.
Amid the already tense situation, India shut borders, downgraded diplomatic ties and, in an unprecedented move, unilaterally announced the suspension of the IWT a day ago over what the Bharatiya Janata Party government and media claimed — without offering any specific or concrete evidence about their allegations against Pakistan — were “cross-border linkages” over the Pahalgam attack in occupied Kashmir.
Addressing a press conference with PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari after a meeting with the party, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said the two sides considered the country’s situation in detail and India’s announcements related to the rivers.
“Today, we decided in the meeting between the PPP and PML-N with mutual agreement that until a decision is reached with mutual consensus in the CCI, no further canal will be constructed and the federal government has decided that there will be no further progress on canals without the consensus of opinion among provinces.”
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He said the CCI meeting was being called on May 2, in which the PPP and PML-N’s decisions would be backed.
Bilawal thanked the premier for hearing out the PPP and the nation’s reservations and complaints in the detailed engagement and taking important subsequent decisions.
He said the prime minister had largely addressed the complaints of those protesting against the government’s policy and expressed hope that the CCI meeting would endorse the decision of no new canal construction without mutual agreement.
“We are not taking any decision today, but only affirming that without a consensus, new canals will not be made. I am looking forward to the CCI meeting.”
Bilawal strongly condemned India’s announcements, particularly regarding the IWT, and said they were not only illegal but “against humanity”.
“We will stand together with you and raise Pakistan’s case not only on the streets but on the international level and will give a befitting response to India’s decision,” the former foreign minister said.
The PPP chairman thanked the premier for their agreement today and said he looked forward to continuing to work with him.
The meeting’s participants were informed that the government was engaging all provincial governments to chart out a long-term consensus roadmap for the development of the country’s agriculture policy and water management infrastructure.
It was said that water rights of all provinces were enshrined in the Water Apportionment Accord-1991 and Water Policy-2018, with the consensus of all stakeholders.
To allay the concerns of all provinces and to ensure food and ecological security, a committee was also being formed with representation from the federation and all provinces that would propose solutions to long-term agriculture needs and water use of all provinces in line with the two documents.
“Water is one of the most precious commodities and the makers of the Constitution recognised this, mandating all water disputes to be resolved amicably through consensus and concerns of any province shall be addressed through due diligence amongst all stakeholders,” said a press release.
The IWT is a water-sharing agreement between Pakistan and India, facilitated by the World Bank. It allocates the waters of the Indus River system between the two countries. It established the India-Pakistan Indus Commission, which is supposed to resolve any problems that arise.
As per Article XII subsection 4 of the treaty, the provisions of the agreement will “continue in force until terminated by a duly ratified treaty concluded for that purpose between the two governments”.
The same argument was forwarded by federal ministers in a press conference today, who said the treaty could not be unilaterally suspended.
PPP leaders welcome canal decision, opposition parties reject
Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah said PM Shehbaz in principle had accepted the PPP’s version and called the decision to shelve the canal project a “victory for the federation, democracy and democratic institutions”.
In a statement, he also appreciated calling the CCI meeting on May 2 and vowed to present Sindh’s stance vociferously.
“I hope that the canal project will be cancelled,” he stated, officially calling for an end to protests and sit-ins.
“The PPP adopted a democratic and constitutional way while those elements who resorted to ‘politics of chaos’ have failed,” Shah said without naming anyone.
Separately, PPP senior leader Faryal Talpur in a statement said that halting work on canals and calling the CCI meeting was a “victory for national unity, constitutional dominance and people’s struggle of Sindh”.
However, the Sindh Bachao Tehreek (SBT) — an alliance of opposition parties such as the Grand Democratic Alliance (GDA), Pakistan Muslim League-Functional (PML-F), PTI and nationalists — issued a statement calling the decisions taken equal to “hoodwinking” the people of Sindh and rejected it.
This statement was made during an emergency meeting of the SBT, chaired by its convener Syed Zain Shah and attended by figures, including the PML-F’s Sardar Raheem, PTI’s Haleem Adil Shaikh, GDA’s Dr Safdar Abbasi, Barrister Hasnain Mirza and others.
They said that since the PPP had already “mortgaged Sindh’s interests”, it was not possible for it to cancel the six canals’ project.
“People of Sindh want to ask as to why Sindh’s lands given for Green Pakistan Initiative have not been cancelled,” said a statement from the the SBT leaders.
