A large number of workers along with Syed Zain Shah, the chairman of the JSM and its sister organizations observed hunger strike at the gate of the Jinnahbagh after holding a demonstration.

Talking to journalists at the camp, Mr Zain rejected the government figures of water availability and feasibility of different projects.

He said that the Thal canal was not included in the 1991 Water Accord, as the final document passed by the Council of Common Interests did not carry the signatures and that was why it had not been validated.

He said the construction on the Thal Canal began in August 2001 prior to the mandatory approvals and sanctions from the ECNEC and other forums, which all came in April 2002 and it was just like putting the cart before the horse.

He said it had been agreed to conduct a study of downstream Kotri water but President Gen Musharraf, trampling down all norms, said that water was being wasted into the sea.

He said the water downstream Kotri was not only essential for cultivation but was also a source of life for 700,000 acres of mangrove forests.

He said Punjab was “not to be trusted which had already deceived Sindh” in the shape of the Chashma-Jhelum link canal.

JSMM: The activists of the JSMM held a protest demonstration in the city on Sunday against the construction of the greater Thal canal and Kalabagh Dam.