PPP lawmakers staged a walkout of the Senate session on Tuesday to register protest against the contentious canal project, reported 24NewsHDTV Channel. 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.
Soon after today’s Senate session began, PPP lawmakers gathered in front of the dais in protest before staging a walkout. Amid the growing clamour, Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar said any decision regarding the canal project would be made in line with the Constitution and laws of the country, through mutual consultation, especially with coalition partners, including the PPP and the Sindh government.
He said that Political Adviser Rana Sanaullah had formally contacted the Sindh government and PPP leadership to assure them that the federal government was committed to resolving the issue through constitutional means. “The decision is clear, nothing will be forced,” he added.
The opposition also raised slogans against the PPP’s alleged “hypocrisy” regarding its stance on the canal project.
Nationalist parties, attorneys, farmers, writers, and members of civil society are protesting and staging sit-ins throughout Sindh against the federal government’s proposal to dig six new canals from Indus River.
The lawyers continue their protest and sit-in on the fifth consecutive day against canals at Khairpur Bypass. Women lawyers take out a two-kilometer torchlight march to register protest. In Nawab Shah, Sindhi nationalist shut down railways track during protests against the canals.
The protestors stopped Hazara Express at Baksho Jamali Railway Gate near Sarhari and chanted slogans against the construction of canals on Indus River. Sindh-Punjab traffic has been suspended for the past four days in protest against canals on the Indus River.