- Murad says that the Punjab government has not yet started work on the Cholistan Canal.
- The dismissal claims that President Zardari approved the project.
- The CCI urges the consultation caused by the CCI to reject the project until then.
Karachi: Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah has claimed that Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) has strength, capacity and rights to stop the Cholistan project, emphasizing that this power will be used if necessary.
Speaking to reporters at the Chief Minister’s House on Saturday, the Provincial Chief Executive Officer said, “We are ready to go to any length to protect Sindh’s rights, which I describe as the rights of the people of Pakistan.”
He said that the voice of the people of Sindh has been heard, and as a result, the Punjab government has not used the RS45 billion allocated for the construction of the Cholistan Canal.
CM Murad said that the opposition wants the PPP to remove the federal government, but the party will not follow their agenda. He mentioned that, at the request of the Sindh government, work on the Cholistan Canal has not started yet. Additionally, he said that a small model has been developed to show potential investors.
The Chief Minister said that canal projects usually start upwards, but when their team visited the site in February, no work was being done. “I instructed the team to visit a canal near the Indian border. When they went there, they found that no work was being done.”
Shah said that Pakistan is facing a shortage of rapid water. He said that from 1999 to 2024, Tarbela Dam has reached full capacity for 17 days in only 25 years, while Mangla Dam has filled for only four days.
He questioned, “If we are unable to fill our dams, how will we be able to maintain the new canals proposed by the federal government?”
The Chief Minister said that the estimated cost of this project was initially Rs. 218 billion, which has now increased that it has increased to Rs225 billion, and in further examinations, the cost may increase even more.
He said, “According to the original project plan, a dam was to be constructed in Chiniat, which was a $ 3 billion project,” he said, the Punjab government said in Rs218 billion PC -1 that they would spend Rs 45 billion in the first year. However, not a single penny has been used so far.
Murad warned that the Cholistan Canal Project has threatened not only Sindh but also the entire country, which is why three provinces- Sindh, Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have already opposed it.
Providing historical references, the CM said that the idea of developing Cholistan with irrigation canals is before 1919, but was rejected by the British.
He said that during the tenure of the caretaker government, the Punjab government demanded a non-objection certificate (NOC) for water allocation from the Indus River System Authority (IRSA), claiming that there was sufficient water flow. However, he said that the actual water flow has decreased significantly over time.
Shah said that from 1976 to 1999, the average downstream flow in Kotri had already fallen significantly, and until 2023, it continued to fall. He questioned the justification for additional water allocation to Punjab, emphasizing that Sindh’s resources are already under stress.
The CM dismissed the claims that President Asif Ali Zardari had approved the project, stating that the approval of the project is under the jurisdiction of the concerned government bodies and required provincial consent.
He clarified that the Sindh Assembly has passed a resolution against the project, in which both PPP and opposition parties have united in their opposition.
Until a proper counseling process is followed, Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif asked to reject the project, Shah reiterated that the final decision is with the federal government and the Council of Common Interest (CCI), which has been called on the issue so far.
