LAHORE: Punjab Irrigation Minister Kazim Ali Pirzada has claimed that Punjab is currently suffering from a 50 percent water shortage — significantly higher than Sindh’s 35 percent — amid rising tensions between the provinces over water distribution and canal construction on the Indus River.
In an exclusive interview with private News regarding the controversial six-canal project under the Green Pakistan Initiative, Pirzada argued that Punjab is facing a more severe water crisis but receives less public sympathy or political backing.
“The Chashma-Jhelum Link Canal (CJ Canal), originally built for Punjab, remains shut most of the time due to objections from Sindh,” the minister said. “Despite this, it’s Sindh’s lawmakers who are creating the most noise, while Punjab has remained largely silent on the issue.”
The water row has intensified as Sindh strongly opposes the construction of six new canals intended for Cholistan. Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah has warned that the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) would quit the federal government if its concerns are ignored.
“Bilawal Bhutto has made it clear — he will stand with the people, not the prime minister, if these canals are built,” the Sindh CM told the media.
He further emphasized that all five rivers belong to the country as a whole, not just the Indus. “President Asif Ali Zardari has also stated in a joint session of Parliament that he does not support the canal project,” Shah said.
“The PPP, with the support of the people, will not allow any project that is harmful to Sindh to go forward,” he added, expressing concerns that the new canals would divert Sindh’s rightful share of water.
Referring to the Council of Common Interest (CCI) meeting, Murad Ali Shah asserted confidently, “I alone am enough to counter them in the CCI.”
