- Azma Bokhari says the canals project unnecessarily politicised.
- Claims President Zardari had approved, signed relevant document.
- Sharjeel Memon says president lacks such prerogative to begin with.
LAHORE, KARACHI: The war of words between the Punjab and Sindh governments have intensified over the controversial Cholistan canal project, which has emerged as a key point of contention between the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) recently, The News reported on Sunday.
The latest verbal skirmish involves Sindh Information Minister Sharjeel Memon’s response to his Punjab counterpart Azma Bokhari, wherein the latter reiterated the PPP’s opposition to the canals following the former’s remarks against the PPP’s stance on the issue.
The issue relates to the federal government’s plan to construct six canals on the Indus River to irrigate the Cholistan desert — a project that was rejected by its main ally PPP, and other Sindh nationalist parties.
According to government sources, the estimated cost of the Cholistan canal and system is Rs211.4 billion and through the project, thousands of acres of barren land can be used for agricultural purposes, and 400,000 acres of land can be brought under cultivation.
Almost all political and religious parties, nationalist groups and civil society organisations staged widespread rallies across Sindh against the controversial plan.
The Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari-led party has time and again expressed reservations over the project, with President Asif Ali Zardari cautioning the government that some of its unilateral policies are causing “grave strain” on the federation.
Bilawal, while addressing a public gathering on Friday, warned that his party would not allow any “irresponsible decision” on water distribution and would resist any attempt to divide the country through controversial projects.
However, in light of PPP’s stance, Punjab Information Minister Bokhari, while speaking at a press conference in Lahore, said that President Zardari had signed the document relating to the canals — a claim denied by Memon later.
Maintaining that the Cholistan canals project was being unnecessarily politicised in Sindh, despite having documented approval from President Zardari, Bokhari emphasised that the canal issue cannot be resolved through rallies or media statements.
“We are not in a fight, but they continue launching verbal attacks,” she said.
Responding to her presser, Memon highlighted that PPP chief Bilawal had already given an unequivocal policy statement against the proposed construction of new canals while recognising it as the biggest issue for the people of Sindh.
Reacting to Bokhari’s claim regarding President Zardari’s approval of the project, Memon said that she should first read the Constitution to know that it wasn’t the prerogative of the president to approve new development projects in the country.
He said the PPP wouldn’t come to a collision course with the incumbent federal government.
“It could be the Punjab government’s agenda that we withdraw our support to the federal government,” he said.
The Sindh minister further noted that Punjab government authorities have yet to inform the relevant quarters in Sindh about the source of water on which they would rely to operate the proposed new irrigation canals in their province.
Memon recalled that Benazir Bhutto (late) had led a protest sit-in at the Sindh-Punjab border to agitate against the proposed construction of Kalabagh Dam. He said the PPP was the first political entity in the country that raised the issue of proposed irrigation canals in the country.
He informed media persons that the PPP would hold a historical public meeting in Hyderabad on April 18 on the issues of canals and terrorism in Pakistan. He said the opposition political parties, which had been conducting the anti-canals campaign, had been unduly targeting the PPP. He said the people of Sindh had the complete realisation that the PPP would never compromise on Sindh’s legitimate interests.
He informed media persons that the PPP believed in doing politics in a mature way with best efforts to protect the genuine interests of the people, as this pro-peace policy of his party would always continue.
He said that some unwise elements in the PML-N issued public statements without going through the Constitution. He told journalists that the PPP desired the four provinces in the country to work in harmony and unity for the progress of the country.
The Sindh senior minister said that Benazir Bhutto and President Zardari had always strived to strengthen the country.
He lamented that the political elements that supported the Kalabgah Dam project in the past had now taken to the streets against new canals.
He mentioned that the Sindh chief minister had written several times to the federal government to convene the meeting of the Council of Common Interests to resolve such inter-provincial controversial matters as per the Constitution.
