Farmers from the southern Sindh region have vowed to oppose the construction of six proposed canals on the Indus River in Punjab’s Cholistan Desert, warning that the project will turn fertile land in Sindh into barren wasteland.
According to media reports, the demonstration, organized under the Anti-Canal Action Committee – an alliance comprising Sindh Abadgarh Board (SAB), Sindh Chamber of Agriculture (SCA), Sindh Abadgarh Association (SAI), and Sindh Abadgarh United Forum – called for For instant project shelving.
The protesters claimed that the canals, approved by the Central Development Work Party (CDWP), threaten the survival of millions in Sindh.
SAB Chairman Mahmood Nawaz Shah questioned the rationale behind irrigating the desert lands of Cholistan at the expense of the fertile areas of Sindh. “You will turn the desert green while turning our fertile lands into desert. What logic justifies this?” Shah said, adding that water shortage in Sindh has been going on for more than 150 years and stressed that farmers will resist any “illegal initiatives” that undermine water security in the region.
SCA’s Miran Muhammad Shah urged Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari to lead the farmers’ protest, recalling Benazir Bhutto’s campaign against the Kalabagh Dam in 1998. Highlighting the broader ramifications, he called on urban residents, especially those of Karachi, to acknowledge the violations. Potential impact on the K-IV project, which relies on water from the Kotri Barrage.
Zubair Talpur, head of the SAI, criticized the federal government for neglecting the current water shortage in Sindh, which has been exacerbated by inequitable distribution under the 1991 Water Agreement. According to SCA Vice President Nabi Bux Satyo, data released by the Indus River System Authority shows ( IRSA said Sindh suffered 40% water shortages between 1999 and 2023, compared to 15% in Punjab.
Speakers at the rally said the Rs 240 billion allocated for the Cholistan Canal project would be better spent on completing the Diamer Basha Dam, which can meet water storage needs on a larger scale without harming Sindh’s agriculture.
Syed Zain Shah of the Sindhu Darya Bachayao Committee warned of large-scale migration from Sindh over the next decade if water is diverted into these canals. He urged the federal government to reconsider the project to prevent irreparable damage to the province.
Other speakers, including legal expert Youssef Leghari, called on lawyers to join the protest by boycotting the courts once a week to raise judicial awareness about the issue. The protesters declared that Sindh would never give up its water rights, language and homeland, and demanded the withdrawal of the canal project.