Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah threatened to quit the government if consensus isn’t reached over the canals project.
Addressing a ceremony in Thatta on Saturday, the chief minister said that the option to leave the government is there if the demands of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) are not met over the issue.
“The canals project is a conspiracy against the people of Sindh. It is an attempt to malign the PPP,” said Murad Ali Shah.
He added that the PPP will oppose the canals project if the matter is brought in the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) meeting.
The chief minister said that the PPP is holding workers’ conventions on the direction of Bilawal Bhutto Zardari.
Earlier in the day, Sindh Bar Association boycotted courts across the province over the construction of six new canals on Indus River.
According to the Sindh Bar Council, lawyers from across the province did not appear in the courts.
In a statement, the Sindh Bar Association condemned the controversial canal project and said that the people of Sindh have rejected the proposed project.
Construction of six new canals on Indus River will have dangerous effects on the environment, society and economy.
On Friday, Sindh Senior Minister, Sharjeel Inam Memon, stated that Senator Irfan Siddiqui’s remarks about the PPP are condemnable. He added that Senator Irfan Siddiqui is either ignorant or uninformed and should read the Constitution. If Irfan Siddiqui has not read the Constitution, then he is unfit to hold a seat in the Senate and should refrain from mocking the public’s mandate.
Addressing a press conference in Karachi, Sindh Senior Minister and Provincial Minister for Information, Transport, and Mass Transit, Sharjeel Inam Memon, responded to recent remarks made by Senator Irfan Siddiqui. He stated that Senator Siddiqui claimed in an interview that the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) had never opposed the construction of canals, and then made a reference to the President. In response, Memon clarified that the PPP has consistently opposed such projects, citing that in 2021, the party passed a resolution against the Rathal Canal; in 2022, it passed another against the Greater Thal Canal Phase II and the Jalalpur Canal. Following these resolutions, the Sindh government raised its concerns in the Council of Common Interests (CCI), including in July 2022 when it opposed the Cholistan Canal.
He emphasized that the Chief Minister of Sindh has written multiple letters to the federal government on this matter. “If Senator Irfan Siddiqui does not remember, we can send him copies of those letters,” he remarked. “We have unanimously passed resolutions in the Sindh Assembly. If such resolutions are not considered an official form of protest, then perhaps he should consider stepping down.” Criticizing Siddiqui’s understanding of the Constitution, Memon said, “You are sitting in the Upper House-don’t you know the constitutional role of the President?” He added that a few members of the PML-N often make uninformed statements, seemingly unaware of constitutional provisions.
He further noted that PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari had clearly communicated the party’s opposition to the canal project to the Prime Minister on the highest platforms. Additionally, the President, during his address to the joint session of Parliament, affirmed that no such project would be supported.
“The PPP has maintained a clear and unequivocal stance on the issue of water-this is not a secret,” Memon said. Condemning Senator Irfan Siddiqui’s statement, he urged the PML-N leadership to educate its members on the PPP’s position and discourage them from making such misleading remarks.