APC rejects proposed projects on Indus

An all parties conference (APC) has rejected the proposed amendments to the Indus Rivers System Authority (IRSA) Act and demanded that the PML-N led federal government shelve its plan to build more canals on the River Indus.

The APC, organized by the JUI-F at a local hotel in Karachi, was attended by leaders of all the major national and provincial parties including the PPP, the PML-N, the GDA, the MQM, the JI, the Qaumi Awami Tehreek, the JSQM, the Markazi Muslim League, the MQM-H, the ANP and the JUI-P.

According to the APC's resolution, participants condemned the Thar Canal, Reni Canal, Cholistan Canal, Greater Thar Canal, Kachi Canal, and Chashma Right Bank Canal projects.

The APC called for an immediate halt to these projects and the plans to amend the IRSA Act.

The creation of new canals would render millions of acres of fertile land in Sindh barren, benefiting only a few companies financially, while leaving millions of farmers and their families unemployed, it said. The resolution said these government actions violate the Constitution of Pakistan and the Charter of Human Rights. It said strengthening a few companies at the expense of weakening the provinces would not benefit the nation.

The participants noted that the 1991 water distribution agreement has not been properly implemented for Sindh's farmers, resulting in a shortage of drinking water in several districts, including Karachi. Despite reservations, the people of Sindh had accepted the 1991 agreement, but they now reject any further modifications.

The resolution said the religious scholars of the JUI-F have prepared a fatwa against the new canal projects, which will be issued in consensus with all schools of thought.

The APC agreed that parties with representation in any legislature will push for a resolution condemning the projects. If the canal projects are not halted, they will begin a full-scale democratic movement. Addressing the conference, JUI-F Provincial Secretary General Rashid Mahmood Soomro said his party would oppose the construction of additional canals on the River Sindh.

"We have put aside political issues to advocate for the rights of the province. The people of Sindh, as well as their land and employment concerns, must be a collective priority," he said.

Separately, Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah called for constitutional protection of the 1991 Water Accord, noting that the provincial government will never compromise on Sindh's water share.