Senators from the PPP leave the meeting to voice their opposition to the canal project.
Lawmakers from the Pakistan Peoples Party boycotted Tuesday’s Senate session in protest of the contentious canal project.
One of the more significant problems the PPP is having with its ally, the PML-N, is the canal issue.
On February 15, Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz and Army Staff Chief Gen. Asim Munir officially opened the massive Cholistan project to irrigate the plains in south Punjab.
Political groups, including the PPP, an ally of the government coalition, have staged protests around the country in recent months.
PPP lawmakers left the Senate shortly after the opening of today’s session.
Azam Nazeer Tarar, Federal Minister for Law and Justice, stated on the Senate floor that the Constitution and national laws would be followed in making the decision about the canal project.
He said that in order to reassure the Sindh government and PPP leadership that the federal government was dedicated to resolving the matter through constitutional channels, Political Adviser Rana Sanaullah had publicly contacted them. “Nothing will be forced—the decision is clear,” he continued.
He accused the opposition of being disruptive and avoiding important conversations. Perhaps they lack the bravery to listen, or perhaps they have no questions to ask. However, I and other senior cabinet members are available to respond if they wish to engage in a fruitful discussion,” he stated.
Tarar added that the prime minister’s special directives had previously been reviewed with coalition partners on the matter. In order to guarantee a thorough and inclusive solution, he noted, a larger multi-party consultation was also being considered.
The law minister said, “The people of Sindh have rejected you,” in reference to the opposition’s recent defeat in the Tharparkar by-election. It won’t benefit the nation or democracy if you want to carry on with this type of politics after losing.
He reminded PPP legislators that they had also submitted a resolution and a call-attention notice on the matter, and he invited them to participate in the parliamentary proceedings. He said, “Let’s get together and deal with this issue through the appropriate parliamentary channels.”
Meanwhile, Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah has warned that if the controversial canal project proceeds without Sindh’s approval, people in the province will be forced to take to the street.
After expressing sympathy for Pope Francis’s death at Cardinal House, CM Shah told the media that no project that went against the will of the Sindhi people would be approved.
Regardless of who started the project, he said, the Sindh government has not given its approval. The PPP has voiced strong opposition at every level, and no progress has been made on the Cholistan canals since July.
Shah asserted, “We’re not questioning anyone’s intentions, but we also won’t play into anyone’s hands. This is a collective cause, and we are determined to stop the canal project for the greater good of the country.”
Expressing concern for farmers, Shah noted that Punjab’s farmers may consider not cultivating wheat next year, and stressed the need for adopting modern agricultural technologies, citing China’s higher wheat yield per acre.
He also criticised a lack of progress in cotton production and called for fact-checking India’s Indira Canal’s impacts via AI tools like ChatGPT.
The chief minister urged all stakeholders in Sindh to protest the canal plan but peacefully, avoiding road blockages that would cause inconvenience to locals.
