Lawyers, nationalist organisations and civil society staged sit-in protest on the National Highway and Link Road near Gulshan-e-Hadeed against the plan to construct six canals on the Indus River.
The protest, led by the Malir Bar Association, was joined by Awami Tehreek, Sindh United Party, Jeay Sindh Qaumi Mahaz (JSQM), Grand Democrfatic Alliance and other parties and organisations.
The sit-in participants have set up a protest camp between the National Highway and Link Road, disrupting the movement of all vehicular traffic.
Talking to the media at the sit-in, Malir Bar Association General Secretary Ayaz Ali Chandio Advocate, Awami Tehreek women leaders Para Soomro Advocate and Sakh Sindhu Soomro said that the people of Sindh have only one slogan - "Indus River is dear to us".
The six canals project on the Indus River will make Sindh's agricultural land barren. There will be a severe shortage of water in Sindh.
Protests are ongoing across Sindh against this project. If the federal government does not withdraw this project, more sit-ins will be held on highways.
The future strategy of the protest will be announced in consultation with the supporting groups.
Meanwhile, the traffic police spokesperson has said that citizens should contact the traffic helpline 1915 to find alternative routes.
Boycott of courts
The Karachi Bar Association (KBA) has announced an indefinite boycott of court proceedings from Tuesday, April 22, in solidarity with protesters opposing the construction of new canals and corporate farming in Sindh. The gates of the city court have been closed and only lawyers will be allowed inside the Bar said.
Speaking at a press conference at the City Court, KBA Acting General Secretary Imran Aziz said the association had been campaigning for the past six months on four major issues, two of which-opposition to the six proposed canals and corporate farming-were of critical concern.
He said that despite their peaceful and constitutional demands, the authorities had failed to respond. "It has been five days since the Babarloi Bypass sit-in began, and more protests are being planned," he said, adding that the All Sindh Lawyers Action Committee had announced three additional sit-ins-one each in Kamboh, Kashmore, and Karachi.
Lawyers' organizations, he said, would not back down. Main highways in Kashmore and Kamboh would be shut down starting today as part of the protest against canal projects on the Indus River.
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