PPP takes to streets over Indus 'water theft'

The Sindh chapter of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) on Friday staged a protest rally from Musa Lane to Lyari Gate against what it described as the "theft" of water from the Indus River, warning of a province-wide agitation if its concerns were not addressed.

The rally was led by PPP Sindh President Nisar Khuhro and attended by a large number of party workers, including women, along with leaders such as Yousuf Baloch, Javed Nagori, Rauf Nagori, Khalil Hot and Farid Memon. Participants carried placards and chanted slogans including "No to theft of Sindh's water" and "Marsoon Marsoon, Sindhu na desoon". Addressing the gathering, Khuhro said the party would enter the third phase of its protest campaign by holding divisional-level rallies across Sindh if "injustices" over water distribution continued. He claimed that protests were held at 130 locations across the province on Friday.

"Water is life, and without it, life cannot continue. We will not allow anyone to snatch away our right to live," he said. Khuhro alleged that Sindh was being deprived of its due share under the 1991 Water Accord, while water was being diverted through link canals, including Chashma-Jhelum, Taunsa-Panjnad and Jalalpur canals.

He termed the continued flow of these canals "unconstitutional" and accused authorities of attempting to render Sindh barren.