Govt to form high-level committee to address PPP concerns over canal project

Meetings between party leaders are likely to take place in both Karachi and Islamabad in the coming days.

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The federal government has decided to form a high-level negotiation committee to address concerns raised by the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and other stakeholders regarding the construction of six canals from the Indus River. The committee will be chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar.

According to government sources, the committee will include Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal, as well as Adviser to the Prime Minister on Political Affairs Rana Sanaullah. The inclusion of water and agriculture experts is also being considered to provide technical insight into the project, they added.

This committee will engage in dialogue with PPP leadership and other concerned parties to seek a political resolution to the objections surrounding the canal project.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has approved the formation of the committee, and meetings with President Asif Ali Zardari and PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari are expected to be scheduled soon.

Negotiations are expected to take place in both Karachi and Islamabad. A senior PML-N leader told Express News that recent internal consultations between Nawaz Sharif and PM Shehbaz concluded that the issue should be resolved through dialogue rather than confrontation.

The government plans to conduct a comprehensive technical review of the project and formulate a joint action plan to resolve the matter.

PML-N also intends to brief Parliament on the project and, if needed, convene a meeting of the Council of Common Interests. Additionally, the party is considering calling an all-parties conference to build consensus, sources claimed.