Contentious canals project to be taken up at CCI meeting on May 2
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A delegation of the Pakistan Peoples Party discusses the controversial canals project with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in Islamabad on April 24, 2025. —PID
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The Council of Common Interests (CCI) will deliberately summon the controversial canals on May 2, a notification issued on Friday said, a day after the federal government decided to stop its implementation between the growing protests in Sindh.
According to the notification, Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif has called for the 52nd meeting of the CII in the Prime Minister’s Office.
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, Defense Minister Khawaja Asif, and Federal Minister Aamir Muqim will attend the meeting. The chief ministers of the four provinces have been invited to attend the meeting.
Law Minister, Finance Minister Mohammad Aurangzeb’s Minister of Law, and Science and Health Minister Mustafa Kamal will also attend the meeting.
A special invitation has been extended to the Minister of Petroleum, Water Resources, and Minister for Power Division. Chief secretaries of all the provinces have also received special invitations to attend.
One day ago, Prime Minister Shahbaz addressed a joint press conference with Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Dari, saying that no new canal would be constructed without mutual understanding on the CCI platform.
Prime Minister Shahbaz and PPP Chief Bilawal informed the media about the decisions made during the meeting. The delegation of PPP, led by Bilawal, included Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah, former Premier Raja Pervez Ashraf, PPP Secretary General Humayun Khan, PPP Secretary Information Information Information Andem Afzal Chen, Shazia Mary, Jam Khan Shoro and Jamil Ahmed Shoro.
The Prime Minister said that the federal government consists of a long -term consensus road map for the development of agriculture policy and water management infrastructure in Pakistan.
He added, “We seriously discussed the issue of canals, and in his suggestions, he explained that Pakistan is a federation and its requirements are that the issues in the provinces should be resolved in mutual and good intentions and well.”
Under the Green Pakistan move to be launched in February, the federal government’s proposed plan to construct six canals to irrigate the desert of Punjab has created rifles between the Muslim League-N and its ruling partner, which is in Sindh.
‘Opposition to Sindh will oppose any plan’
Addressing a press conference in Karachi early today, Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah said that the issue related to the controversial projects of the canal is moving towards a resolution and urged the protesters to change their protests into a celebration. “
He said that in democracy, the voice of opposition should also be heard and acknowledged. “We are busy with the protesters as directed by the PPP chairman,” he said.
He assured, “If necessary, I will meet the protesters too.” He added that those who want to campaign against the party are free to do so, because protests are a democratic right.
Murad emphasized that the problems facing the people of Sindh were resolved by the leadership of Bilawal. “We will oppose any plan that is against the interests of Sindh,” he said.
Commenting on the protest, the Chief Minister said that the ongoing protests have had a serious impact on the economy, and that the roads that are currently blocked should be cleaned. He noted, “Some are against the construction of the canals, but some are just opposed to the PPP.”
Murad said that the Prime Minister himself has admitted that the matter is more important than many federal issues. He claimed that “the case of the canals is over now.”
He also criticized the story that was built around the so -called anger of the rights of Sindh, saying, “To remove such statements, Bilawal is directly engaged with the people.”
