Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah on Monday said that PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari had made it clear in his Garhi Khuda Bux speech that he prefer the people over the prime minister if a decision on the canals project had to be made.

Chief of the Army Staff Gen Asim Munir and Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz inaugurated the ambitious Cholistan project to irrigate south Punjab’s lands on February 15 amid public uproar and strong reservations in Sindh.

The contentious $3.3 billion Green Pakistan Initiative (GPI) launched by the federal government to develop six canals to irrigate 1.2 million acres of “barren land” in south Punjab has been strongly opposed by the PPP, which is in power in Sindh, as well as farmers and other stakeholders.

The lawyers have also warned the federal government that they would initiate protests if the planned construction of canals in Cholistan was not stopped within a week.

Yesterday, while addressing a rally in Tando Jam, PPP leader Faryal Talpur said her party would not allow the construction of new canals over the Indus River, warning that if such issues kept cropping up, the entire province would rise.

Speaking to journalists on the 18th death anniversary of his father, Syed Abdullah Shah, in his hometown of Wahur in Sehwan today, CM Shah said that the province’s case on the new canals was quite strong and could not be rejected by anyone, adding that the PPP leadership had made it clear that canals would not be built on the Indus River.

Summaries of Sindh regarding new water projects, including Cholistan canal, have been submitted in the Council of Common Interests (CCI) in 2023 and 2024 but a decision on them is still awaited. The CCI is a forum that has exclusive jurisdiction to decide water disputes.

These summaries were submitted by the provincial government after the Indus River System Authority (IRSA) had approved a contentious water availability certificate for the smaller Cholistan canal on Jan 17 last year through a split decision of 4:1.

CM Shah said Bilawal would address a public gathering on April 18 in Hyderabad as he had announced it in Garhi Khuda Bux earlier this month.