KARACHI: Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah has appealed to opposition parties and nationalist groups not to spread panic among the public regarding the controversial Cholistan Canal project.
Speaking to the media in Karachi, Shah asserted that construction on the project has been halted since July last year, and its approval has been pending in the National Economic Council since November due to Sindh's objections.
He warned that if the matter escalates beyond control, his party will consider giving a call for broader protests. "The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) was the first to raise its voice against the canal’s construction," he stated. "The Sindh government will never allow this canal to be built."
Without directly naming the Punjab government, Shah criticized what he called a "needless inauguration" of the project, accusing it of sowing distrust among the people of Sindh. He claimed the so-called inauguration held earlier was not genuine.
It is worth noting that Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz, alongside Army Chief General Asim Munir, had inaugurated the Cholistan Canal project earlier this year.
Shah expressed gratitude to the federal government for pausing the project but questioned why it had not been formally scrapped yet. "The federal authorities are aware that the situation is not proceeding correctly," he said.
The Sindh CM emphasized that issues like water scarcity and food security should be addressed through improved agricultural output and better water management, not by constructing new canals.
He confirmed that the federal government had reached out to him for dialogue, expressing hope that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif would act justly in resolving the issue.
