KARACHI: The Grand Democratic Alliance (GDA) on Saturday blamed the ruling Pakistan Peoples Party for a severe water crisis in the province.

The opposition alliance also demanded the immediate withdrawal of ‘false’ cases registered against people for protesting against the construction of six new canals on the Indus River.

According to a statement issued on the occasion of World Water Day, GDA leaders Dr Safdar Ali Abbasi, Dr Fehmida Mirza, Liaquat Ali Jatoi and Abdul Razzaq Rahimoon accused the PPP of compromising the Indus River for political gains by approving the construction of the canals.

They warned that this decision would lead to the complete desertification of Sindh.

They said that if the ruling party of the province was truly sincere about Sindh’s welfare, it should announce its separation from the federal government.

They also urged the federal government to respect the will of the people of Sindh and cancel the project to construct new canals on the Indus River.

The GDA leaders highlighted that the province was already facing a severe water crisis, with hunger and poverty spreading due to the incompetence of Sindh’s corrupt rulers.

They said that due to the lack of water in the Indus River, there was nothing but sand everywhere and millions of acres of land in the province had turned barren.

They further said that there was a significant shortage of wheat, rice and other essential crops due to shortage of water in the province.

Published in Dawn, March 23rd, 2025