Protests against the federal government’s Cholistan Canal Project on the Indus River have entered their 11th day in parts of Sindh, Pakistan, with major disruptions reported:
- Key protest sites include the Khairpur Baberlo bypass, Mangrio Pump near Daharki, Kamo Shaheed in Obaro, and Gola Mor in Kandhkot, blocking vital links between Sindh, Punjab, and Balochistan.
- Traffic jams and long queues have been reported, affecting commerce and daily life.
The project, estimated to cost PKR 211.4 billion, aims to build six canals to irrigate parts of the Cholistan desert, bringing 400,000 acres of barren land under cultivation. However, it has been strongly opposed by the PPP-led Sindh government, Sindh nationalist parties, civil society groups, and lawyers, who argue it could harm Sindh’s water rights and ecology.
- Sit-ins by lawyers on the National Highway and Gulshan-e-Hadid Link Road in Karachi have forced road closures and diversions.
- Lawyers have also shut the City Court gates in Karachi, though proceedings at the Sindh High Court continue.
- Protests have spread to Dadu, Matiari, Hala, Hyderabad, Thatta, Nawabshah, and other regions following police baton charges and tear gas attacks in places like Malir, Kandhkot, and Padidan.
In retaliation:
- The Lawyers Action Committee suspended Sindh Law Minister Zia Lanjar’s membership in the Sindh Bar Council.
- Senior Sindh Minister Sharjeel Memon assured that the canal dispute would be addressed at the Council of Common Interests (CCI) meeting on May 2, urging protesters to end sit-ins and reopen roads.
Background Conflict:
- The canal project has turned into a major flashpoint between Sindh’s provincial government (PPP) and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s federal government.
- The Centre reportedly decided to put the project “on the back burner” after intense opposition but protests continue until formal cancellation.