Bilawal presses PM Shehbaz to roll back controversial canals project on people's demand

• Bilawal calls project unilateral decision, rejects govt’s stance.
• Vows PPP will stand with people against unfair water distribution.
• Warns those trying to divide Indus River to create regional rifts.
  

Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has urged Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to roll back the controversial canals project, saying that if the people oppose these canals, his party would stand by them, not the government.

"Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif [Sahab], this is the demand of the people, not just ours… If we are to stay united as brothers, the project must be withdrawn," the PPP chief said while addressing a public gathering held to mark former prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto's 46th death anniversary at Gari Khuda Bakhsh.

The federal government plans to construct six canals on the Indus River to irrigate the Cholistan desert — a project that was rejected by its main ally PPP, and other Sindh nationalist parties.

According to government sources, the estimated cost of the Cholistan canal and system is Rs211.4 billion and through the project, thousands of acres of barren land can be used for agricultural purposes and 400,000 acres of land can be brought under cultivation, The News reported.

Almost all political and religious parties, nationalist groups and civil society organisations staged widespread rallies across Sindh against the controversial plan.

The Bilawal-led party has time and again expressed reservations over the project, with President Asif Ali Zardari cautioning the government that some of its unilateral policies are causing "grave strain" on the federation.

Addressing the public gathering today, Bilawal warned that the PPP would not allow any "irresponsible decision" on water distribution and would resist any attempt to divide the country through controversial projects.

He highlighted that the PPP has a long history of fighting for fair water distribution. He reminded that it was former prime minister and his mother Benazir Bhutto, who had blocked a disputed dam project, even while out of power.

He questioned those now lecturing on the issue, saying, “Who stopped the controversial dam project? Have you forgotten? It was Shaheed Benazir Bhutto who stood against it.”

Reaffirming PPP’s stance, Bilawal said that his party has been fighting against the controversial canals project since its inception. “Be it General [retired] Musharraf’s unilateral decision on canals or the policies of the PTI founder, PPP has always resisted unfair water allocation,” he said.

He criticised the government’s one-sided approach, saying that PPP had already rejected the project in the Central Executive Committee (CEC) meeting. “This project was opposed even in the joint parliamentary session by President Asif Ali Zardari.”

"We are unhappy with the government over the canals project, which is why we are not part of it," he added.

He further demanded that authorities review the Indus River System Authority’s (Irsa) reports on water shortages, which he claimed highlight water scarcity not just in Sindh but in Punjab as well.

He criticised political opponents for suddenly raising voice over the issue, saying, “I was the first to raise my voice against the canals project, and now they have just woken up.”

Taking a jab at PTI founder Imran Khan, Bilawal said, “When Canal projects were initiated by prisoner number 804, PPP was the only party resisting them while others remained silent.”

The PPP chief also said that his party would not allow the completion of the project. “We rejected this project before, and we will continue to reject it,” he asserted. He also warned that those trying to divide the Indus River to create regional rifts would not succeed.

“They want to break the Indus River to divide us, but we will not let that happen,” he said, adding that nationalist groups had united against the project, calling for the government to let the Indus flow freely.

Bilawal urged the federal government to listen to the people of Sindh and Punjab regarding fair water distribution. "We are the ones who always said 'Pakistan Khappay', but fairness in water distribution is non-negotiable," he stated.