Canal protest enters 11th day as sit-ins disrupt traffic across Sindh

• Sit-in at Khairpur bypass reaches 11th day.
• Traffic suspended between Sindh, Balochistan.
• City Court gates closed amid lawyers' protest.

KARACHI: The sit-in at Khairpur Baberlo bypass against the controversial canal project entered its 11th day on Monday — leaving traffic between Sindh nd Punjab suspended — while the protest at Mangrio Pump near Daharki on the National Highway has continued into its 9th consecutive day.

Sit-ins are also being staged at Kamo Shaheed in Obaro and Gola Mor in Kandhkot, resulting in severe disruption of traffic between Sindh and Balochistan, with long queues of vehicles reported on key routes.

The Cholistan Canals issue has emerged as a key point of contention between the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) led Sindh government and the Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif-led federal government.

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.

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

Although a meeting of the Council of Common Interests (CCI) has been summoned on May 2 following the Centre's decision to put the controversial project on the back burner on severe opposition from the Bilawal Bhutto-led party — who is a key coalition ally of PM Shehbaz — the protests by lawyers, other political parties and segments of the society continue to grip the province.

The ongoing demonstrations also include protests at two locations in Ghotki with lawyers' sit-in entering its sixth day on the National Highway on the province's border with Punjab.

Meanwhile, a sit-in by lawyers and other demonstrators continues on Gulshan-e-Hadid Link Road in Karachi, where both tracks leading to and from the National Highway have been closed to traffic, according to the traffic police.

Traffic heading towards Thatta from Karachi is being diverted towards the Port Qasim roundabout.

In Karachi's City Court, lawyers continue their protest against the canal project, keeping the gates closed for litigants for yet another day. Entry into the court premises has been restricted exclusively to lawyers.

The protesting lawyers have declared that the sit-in will continue until the notification regarding the construction of the canals is withdrawn. However, judicial proceedings at the Sindh High Court are ongoing as per routine.

Protests have also intensified across other cities, including Hyderabad, Thatta, Dadu, Matiari, Hala, and Nawabshah, following incidents of baton charges and tear gas shelling by police against demonstrators in Malir, Kandhkot, and Padidan. In response, lawyers and political parties have organised demonstrations across these regions to denounce police action.

Adding to the tensions, the Lawyers Action Committee has announced the suspension of Sindh’s Law Minister Zia Lanjar's membership from the Sindh Bar Council.

Senior Sindh Minister Sharjeel Memon, addressing the ongoing crisis, assured that the issue of the disputed canals would be permanently resolved at the Council of Common Interests (CCI) meeting scheduled for May 2.

He appealed to all political parties and the legal fraternity to end their sit-ins and reopen the blocked roads.