Govt calls urgent CCI meeting to settle Indus canals dispute

By Staff Reporter

KARACHI: The government will hold an urgent meeting of the Council of Common Interests (CCI) on Monday evening to address a contentious plan to build six new canals on the Indus River, a project that has sparked widespread protests in Sindh, a provincial minister said.

The meeting, originally scheduled for May 2, was brought forward at the request of the Sindh government, which is grappling with escalating unrest over the canals, part of the Cholistan irrigation project launched in February to develop arid lands in southern Punjab.

The initiative, inaugurated by army chief General Asim Munir and Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz, has drawn sharp criticism from Sindh, where officials fear it will exacerbate water shortages.

“Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has summoned a meeting of the CCI today on the request of the Sindh government,” provincial minister Sharjeel Memon said in a statement. “The CCI meeting chaired by the prime minister will be held in Islamabad in the evening today, and a decision on the canals’ matter will be made there.”

“Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah will attend the meeting on behalf of Sindh.”

The dispute softened last week after India suspended the Indus Waters Treaty, a 1960 agreement governing shared river resources, following an attack in occupied Kashmir that killed 26 people. The Indian action has raised concerns about Pakistan’s water security.

On April 23, Prime Minister Sharif halted the canal project pending CCI consensus, but protests have continued, with lawyers and other groups blocking highways, including a sit-in at the Babarloi bypass in Sindh’s Khairpur district since April 18.

The minister expressed optimism about resolving the issue, pointing to recent discussions between Sharif and Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, chairman of the Pakistan Peoples Party, a key coalition partner. “The decision will reflect their agreement, and the canal issue will be settled,” Memon said.

Memon said the protests had disrupted interprovincial transport, hurting businesses and farmers. “We appealed for an earlier meeting because the economic losses were mounting,” the minister told a private news channel. “The public interest is important to us at the moment as it was creating issues for the business community and the farmers.”