Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday announced the federal government is halting any progress on the controversial Cholistan canals project until consensus can be achieved between the center and all provinces through the Council of Common Interests (CCI).
In a statement issued after a meeting between the prime minister and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, the Prime Minister’s Office said “no new canals will be built without mutual understanding from CCI.” It added that the project would remain stalled without consensus among all provinces.
According to the statement, the federal government is engaging all provincial governments to chart out a long-term consensus roadmap for development of agriculture policy and water management infrastructure nationwide. It noted that Bhutto-Zardari and Sharif had reiterated that water rights of all provinces are enshrined in the Water Apportionment Accord, 1991 and Water Policy, 2018. To allay the concerns of all provinces and to ensure Pakistan’s food and ecological security, it said, both parties decided to constitute a committee with representation from the federation and all provinces.
“The committee will propose solutions to Pakistan’s long-term agriculture needs and water use of all provinces in line with the two consensus documents,” it added.
Describing water as one of the most precious commodities, it recalled that the Constitution mandated all water disputes to be resolved amicably through consensus. Concerns of any province regarding a project shall be addressed through due diligence amongst all stakeholders, it said.
The CCI meeting on the issue would take place on May 2, with the statement noting that representatives of both the PPP and PMLN would endorse this view and revert any contentious proposals to the relevant agency.
In its statement, the PPP reiterated that no canal would be constructed without total consensus among the provinces. “The decisions from this meeting will be ratified in the Council of Common Interests meeting on May 2,” it said, adding, “where it will be confirmed that no canal will be constructed.”
The issue had proven a bone of contention between the ruling PMLN and the PPP-led Sindh government, with the latter maintaining that the new canals risked reducing the water share of the province. The center, meanwhile, has maintained the project only seeks to utilize water already allocated for Punjab.
No end to protests
Despite the announcement, lawyers and Sindhi nationalist parties have refused to end road blockades that have paralyzed trade, raising fears of mounting economic losses if sit-ins continue. The protesters have said they will accept nothing short of an outright cancellation of the project.
Speaking with media on Friday afternoon, Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah stressed that the project cannot be cancelled “through notification,” as demanded, as it was never devised though a notification. Instead, he explained, the CCI would merely reaffirm that no new canals could be constructed without consensus, and as Sindh didn’t support this project, it would not proceed.
The issue has drawn the ire of various chambers and transporters, who have demanded the government clear roads or risk protests against the sit-ins that have halted their business activities.