The PTI on Thursday submitted a resolution in the National Assembly against the planned construction of six new canals on the Indus River.
PTI lawmakers – including its NA parliamentary leader Zartaj Gul, Ali Muhammad Khan and Mohammad Ahmed Chattha – submitted a resolution to Speaker Ayaz Sadiq against the canals project.
The resolution demanded that the “construction of the Cholistan canal projects” should be suspended immediately until the Council of Common Interest (CCI) approves it.
The PPP has repeatedly called for a meeting of the CCI – empowered to decide, formulate and regulate policies concerning interprovincial and centre-province matters – to be convened.
The resolution said the CCI’s approval for the project was needed to “safeguard inter-provincial harmony and compliance with constitutional norms”.
The resolution also demanded an independent audit of the Indus River System Authority’s (Irsa) water availability certificate issued for the Cholistan canals.
It said the audit should be conducted by a “neutral panel of hydrologists and environmental experts within 60 days, with findings tabled before this House to verify compliance with the Water Apportionment Accord 1991, and assess impacts on Sindh’s water share”.
The PTI’s resolution highlighted that Sindh relies on the Indus River as a “vital source of water for agriculture, domestic use, and ecological sustainability”.
“Sindh’s reservations, formally lodged with the CCI in July 2024, highlight the need for transparency, scientific assessment, and inter-provincial consensus prior to such projects,” it stated.
Meanwhile, PPP lawmakers recorded their protest in the over a purported resolution against the six canals project not being included in the NA agenda, the party’s central spokesperson Shazia Marri said.
Marri, in a statement posted by her party on X, claimed that the PPP had submitted a resolution opposing the canals in the lower house of the parliament on April 7 but did not receive support from either the PML-N or the MQM-P – its allies in the ruling coalition.
“Despite the response of the PML-N in the House, the PPP is continuously demanding the approval of a resolution against the construction of canals on the Indus River,” Marri asserted, adding that the PTI “caused a ruckus” during today’s proceedings. The MNA further said the PPP held Punjab ministers responsible for “provocative and divisive” statements on the issue, whilst chastising the PTI for disrupting the session.
“It was very upsetting to see the PTI’s irresponsible attitude on display during the debate on the canals,” Marri was quoted as saying. “The fact is, two of these canals were approved by [then-premier] Imran Niazi [Khan] during the PTI’s tenure, which Sindh was strongly against,” she claimed.
Marri added that if the PTI wanted to make amends for this past “error”, then they should support her party’s resolution.
“We have to stand together against the canal project, as it is a matter of life and death,” the party spokesperson added. “Water should be distributed across the country according to the 1991 Water Apportionment Accord.”
Asserting that the PPP has always fought for fair water distribution, Marri reiterated PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and President Asif Ali Zardari’s stances on the issue, noting that both figures called the project “unilateral”.
The NA session will resume at 11am today, a statement on its X account said.
The PPP-led Sindh government had opposed a planning body’s approval for the Cholistan canal in October 2024, but faced criticism by nationalist parties over its alleged complicity in the project.
In response, the PPP last month staged province-wide rallies to protest the scheme and the Sindh Assembly passed a resolution against it.