PPP ready to use its power to stop Cholistan project, says CM Murad
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Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah speaks to journalists at Chief Minister House, Karachi, Sindh, March 29, 2025. — Screengrab via video
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KARACHI: Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah on Saturday strongly opposed the federal government’s plans for the construction of the Cholistan Canal project, saying that the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) will use its strength, potential and authority so that if necessary, to stop it.
“We are ready to go to some extent to protect the rights of Sindh, which I describe as the rights of the people of Pakistan,” the provincial chief executive told reporters at the Chief Minister’s House on Saturday.
He added that the voice of the people of Sindh has been heard, and as a result, the Punjab government has not used dollars allocated for the construction of the Cholistan Canal.
CM Murad said the opposition wants the PPP to remove the federal government, but the party will not follow their agenda. He mentioned that work on the Cholistan Canal, at the request of the Sindh government, has not yet begun. In addition, he noted that a small model has been developed to present potential investors.
The Chief Minister said that the canal projects usually start upwards, but when his team visited the site in February, no work was being done. “I instructed the team to visit the canal near the Indian border. When they went there, they found out that nothing was happening.”
Shah noted that Pakistan is facing severe water shortage. He pointed out that from 1999 to 2024, the Tarbela Dam has reached full capacity for only 17 days in 25 years, while Mangla Dam has given only four days.
He asked, “If we are unable to fill our dams, how will we be able to maintain the new canals suggested by the federal government?”
The Chief Minister said that the estimated cost of the project was initially Rs 218 billion, which has now increased to Rs 25 billion, and after further scrutiny, the cost may increase.
“According to the original project plan, a dam was to be built in Chennai, which was a $ 3 billion plan,” he said, adding that the government has said in 218 billion PC1 that it will spend Rs 45 billion in the first year. However, not a single money has been used so far.
Murad warned that the Cholistan Canal Project pose a threat to not only Sindh but also the entire nation, which is why three provinces – Sund, Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have already expressed their opposition.
Providing historical context, the Chief Minister noted that the idea of development of Cholistan with irrigation canals was in 1919 but was rejected by the British.
He explained that during the caretaker government, the Punjab government called for an objection certificate (NOC) for allocating water from the River Indus River System Authority (IRSA), and claimed that there was plenty of flow of water. However, it fought that over time the actual flow of water has decreased significantly.
Shah highlighted that from 1976 to 1999, the average flow of Kotri has already decreased significantly, and by 2023, it continues to decline. He questioned the justification for allocating additional water to Punjab, emphasizing that Sindh’s resources are already under pressure.
The Chief Minister rejected the claims that President Asif Ali Zardari had approved the plan, saying that the approval of the project was under the jurisdiction of the relevant government agencies and that the provincial consensus was needed.
He made it clear that the Sindh Assembly has passed a resolution against the project, in which both the PPP and the opposition parties are united in their opposition.
Unless Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif demanded the rejection of the plan, the Shah reiterated that the final decision was with the Federal Government and the Council of Common Interests (CCI), which has not yet agreed.
