HYDERABAD, Nov 17: Leaders of the Anti-Greater Thal Canal Action Committee have pledged to continue their struggle till the disputed projects of the Kalabagh dam and Thal canal are were abandoned.

They were speaking at an Iftar party hosted by the Sindh Taraqqi Pasand Party at the Taraqqi Pasand House in Qasimabad here on Sunday.

The convener of the action committee and president of the People’s Party Parliamentarian, Sindh, Nisar Ahmad Khuhro, said they were struggling for the supremacy of the Constitution and parliament and “fighting against dictators who have usurped fundamental rights of the people.”

He said the action committee would continue to struggle for the rights of Sindh, restoration of a true democracy, judicious distribution of resources and justice.

Mr Khuhro said the rulers had raised the issue of the Kalabagh dam to divert attention of the people from the ongoing construction of the Thal canal.

He said the struggle against the disputed water projects would not be restricted to Sindh alone but it would be extended to Punjab, NWFP and Balochistan.

Clarifying misconceptions with regard to a resolution adopted at the conference of opposition leaders in Lahore, he said the conference had made it clear that water supply to link canals would be illegal till lower riparians were supplied with water.

He maintained that no decision was taken at the conference that could prove harmful for Sindh. He said no resolution was adopted at the Lahore conference in respect of new dams or canals.

STPP chairman Dr Qadir Magsi criticized political leaders of Sindh who were working against the interests of the province and cautioned the people against designs of vested interests.

Observing that the water issue was crucial for the agriculture-based economy of Sindh, he called upon the people to expose the “traitors.”

He said the action committee was a true representative of the people.

Awami Tehrik chief Rasool Bux Palijo said the rulers were doing everything possible to seek what he called a fake consensus on the water projects. However, he said they would not succeed as their conspiracies had been exposed.

He asked the Sindh ministers, advisers and legislators no to compromise on the water issue.

Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) vice-president Makhdoom Shahnawaz said the struggle against the Thal canal and the Kalabagh dam was gaining momentum with each passing day.

Sindh National Front leader Mohammad Ayub Shar, Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam (Fazl) leader Maulana Taj Mohammad Nahyoon and STPP leaders Haider Shahani and Muzaffar Kalhoro also spoke on the occasion.

A large number of political activists, including Maula Bux Chandio, Saleem Zia, Afzal Gujjar, Syed Amir Ali Shah Jamote and Syed Ali Nawaz Shah Naqvi attended the Iftar party.