QAT threatens protest over Indus water rights

Party president warns of blocking key highway if Sindh's water supply is disrupted

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HYDERABAD:

President of Qaumi Awami Tehreek Ayaz Latif Palijo has issued a warning of blocking 700-kilometre road from Karachi to Ghotki in protest if Indus River's flow towards Sindh is disrupted under any pretext. "You will have to wage a fight after every five kilometres," he cautioned while speaking at an event in Kambar Shahdadkot on Sunday.

He said Sindh was not given the river as a gift or did the province win it through some lottery rather it has been flowing through the province for thousands of years. "The river is ours and our next generations'."

He maintained that the future of 70 million people of Sindh depends on this very river. Palijo claimed that people are running out of patience because the federal government is not resolving the issue of construction of six new canals on the Indus.

"We want President Asif Ali Zardari, PPP's Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif to let us know if they consider Sindh an African desert."

He reiterated criticism over the PPP's government saying that the party has secured power by bargaining resources of Sindh to the centre.

Palijo pointed out that Badin, Thatta and Sujawal are already suffering from acute water shortage and the consequent sea intrusion which is fast eating the land.

He demanded that all members of the Council of Common Interests (CCI), Indus River System Authority (IRSA), Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) and Central Development Working Party (CDWP) who are prejudicial to Sindh should be fired from their positions. "If Cholistan canal is built, water flowing towards Sindh will be stopped."

SUP sets up hunger strike camp

The Sindh United Party set up a hunger strike camp in front of the Mirpurkhas Press Club to protest against the construction of six canals to be drawn from the Indus River. The protest witnessed participation from various political and social leaders. Addressing the protest camp, SUP leaders Aftab Qureshi, Raja Abdul Haq, and Lala Izhar Pathan expressed their concerns, accusing the federal government of pushing Sindh towards economic and agricultural destruction. They claimed that the ruling parties, including the Pakistan Peoples' Party (PPP) and the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), had collectively decided to deprive the people of Sindh of their rights. The party leaders vowed to resist the canal project with the same determination that prevented the construction of the Kalabagh Dam. "Our struggle to protect the resources of Sindh will continue until the plan is withdrawn," they stated. Party members, nationalists, lawyers, and civil society representatives stood in solidarity with the Sindh United Party during the protest.