Canal dispute: breaking the deadlock

Business Recorder

22-04-2025

EDITORIAL: With the PML-N and PPP finally agreeing to begin dialogue on the controversial canal project that aims to irrigate the Cholistan region, there is now renewed hope for an amicable resolution to an issue that has emerged as the most serious threat to inter-provincial harmony in years.
The project has not only prompted the PPP to threaten withdrawal from the coalition government, it has also sparked protests and shutter-down strikes across Sindh, where there are growing fears that the province's water rights will be usurped if the project proceeds.
It is highly welcome, therefore, that senior representatives from both sides have decided to engage on the matter. Following Nawaz Sharif's call for talks to resolve the issue, PML-N leader Rana Sanaullah reached out to PPP's Sharjeel Inam Memon on April 20, and assured him that the federal government is ready to discuss Sindh's concerns regarding the canal project.
The PPP, for its part, has welcomed the PML-N's overture although it has not backed down from its original stance that calls for the project to be completely scrapped. Nevertheless, the willingness of both sides to come to the table suggests a desire to resolve the highly divisive issue.
The canal project, it must be recalled, is part of the Green Pakistan Initiative that aims to revolutionise agriculture in the country by not only providing high quality seeds, fertilisers and pesticides to farmers, but also through placing state-of-the-art agricultural equipment and technology at their disposal besides irrigating the barren Cholistan region through building a network of six canals on the Indus river.
The initiative holds the potential to fundamentally transform the way agriculture is practiced in Pakistan, ushering in modern methods and putting the country on the path towards sustainable food security.
Given the immense importance of this undertaking, therefore, one is at pains to understand why the ruling PML-N did not adopt a more flexible approach much earlier. Talks on such contentious issues – provincial water sharing and resource distribution among federating units – should never have been delayed, as the prolonged inaction has only fuelled unrest and deepened mistrust between provinces.
What could have been resolved through timely negotiation has been turned into a political hot potato, exacerbated by inflammatory rhetoric from all sides, and one truly hopes that despite all the public posturing, both sides go into the talks with a spirit of consensus-building.
It is also crucial here to highlight that the Constitution prescribes a procedure to resolve disputes between federating units, i.e., through the much-ignored Council of Common Interest (CCI), the highest constitutional authority tasked with formulating and regulating policies related to inter-provincial and centre-province matters.
The CCI was envisioned as a body geared towards strengthening the federal structure by resolving policy disagreements in meetings that were required to take place every 90 days. What is disheartening is that successive governments have not accorded this institution the respect it deserves, and have repeatedly violated the Constitution by neglecting to hold its sessions as mandated, with no CCI meetings being convened ever since the present government came to power.
So, while the holding of talks between the two coalition partners is much-needed, one also hopes that the PML-N realises the importance of the CCI in resolving inter-provincial disputes as its decisions carry greater legitimacy and are more likely to result in enduring outcomes given its constitutional status. Ultimately, both parties must remember this: a solution that serves the interest of the federation need not come at the expense of any federating unit.
Serving both does not have to be a mutually exclusive endeavour. Any dialogue process must be rooted in fairness and pursuance of existing agreement with focus on forging consensus that balances national interest with provincial rights.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025