'Punjab should not turn Sindh barren'
Former chairman Senate and ex-federal law minister Farooq H. Naek belonging to the Pakistan Peoples Party has cautioned the federal and Punjab governments against going ahead with the controversial canals project.
Talking to the media outside SHC Hyderabad on Thursday, Naek asked the Punjab govt not to turn Sindh into a barren land.
"The canals should not be built. Sindh's water should not be stopped."
He said, it would be a big injustice by Punjab if they stopped water by building canals. He observed that the residents of Sindh, farmers and peasants as well as their agriculture sector and economy would immensely suffer.Naek said President Asif Ali Zardari, being the head of the state, recently briefed the parliament about the repercussions of the canals project. He emphasised that the government should listen to the president because stopping a province's water would be a gross injustice.
Meanwhile, protests against the canals continued across the province on Thursday, demanding of the centre and Punjab to roll back the project. The Sindhi nationalist leaders have been warning that they will block the highways which are used for trade by Punjab for imports, exports and trade.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Express Tribune
4 hours ago
- Express Tribune
US Senate passes landmark crypto bill for US-dollar-pegged stablecoins
Bitcoin coins are seen at a stand during the Bitcoin Conference 2023, in Miami Beach, Florida, U.S., May 19, 2023. PHOTO: REUTERS Listen to article The US Senate on June 17 passed a bill to create a regulatory framework for US-dollar-pegged cryptocurrency tokens known as stablecoins, in a watershed moment for the digital asset industry. The bill, dubbed the GENIUS Act, received bipartisan support, with several Democrats joining most Republicans to back the proposed federal rules. It passed 68-30. The House of Representatives, which is controlled by Republicans, needs to pass its version of the bill before it heads to President Donald Trump's desk for approval. "It is a major milestone," said Andrew Olmem, a managing partner at law firm Mayer Brown and the former deputy director of the National Economic Council during Trump's first term. "It establishes, for the first time, a regulatory regime for stablecoins, a rapidly developing financial product and industry." Stablecoins, a type of cryptocurrency designed to maintain a constant value, usually a 1:1 dollar peg, are commonly used by crypto traders to move funds between tokens. Their use has grown rapidly in recent years, and proponents say that they could be used to send payments instantly. If signed into law, the stablecoin bill would require tokens to be backed by liquid assets - such as US dollars and short-term Treasury bills - and for issuers to publicly disclose the composition of their reserves on a monthly basis. The crypto industry has long pushed for lawmakers to pass legislation creating rules for digital assets, arguing that a clear framework could enable stablecoins to become more widely used. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent lauded the bill as a driver of economic growth and stated in his official X statement, "Recent reporting projects that stablecoins could grow into a $3.7 trillion market by the end of the decade. That scenario becomes more likely with passage of the GENIUS Act." Recent reporting projects that stablecoins could grow into a $3.7 trillion market by the end of the decade. That scenario becomes more likely with passage of the GENIUS Act. A thriving stablecoin ecosystem will drive demand from the private sector for US Treasuries, which back… — Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent (@SecScottBessent) June 17, 2025 The sector spent more than $119 million backing pro-crypto congressional candidates in last year's elections and had tried to paint the issue as bipartisan. The House of Representatives passed a stablecoin bill last year but the Senate - in which Democrats held the majority at the time - did not take that bill up, and it died. Trump has sought to broadly overhaul US cryptocurrency policies after courting cash from the industry during his presidential campaign. Bo Hines, who leads Trump's Council of Advisers on Digital Assets, has said the White House wants a stablecoin bill passed before August. Tensions on Capitol Hill over Trump's various crypto ventures at one point threatened to derail the digital asset sector's hope of legislation this year as Democrats have grown increasingly frustrated with Trump and his family members promoting their personal crypto projects. 'In advancing these bills, lawmakers forfeited their opportunity to confront Trump's crypto grift – the largest, most flagrant corruption in presidential history,' said Bartlett Naylor, financial policy advocate for Public Citizen, a consumer rights advocacy group. Trump's crypto ventures include a meme coin called $TRUMP, launched in January, and a business called World Liberty Financial, a crypto company owned partly by the president. The White House has said there are no conflicts of interest present for Trump and that his assets are in a trust managed by his children. Other Democrats expressed concern that the bill would not prevent big tech companies from issuing their own private stablecoins, and argued that legislation needed stronger anti-money laundering protections and prohibitions on foreign stablecoin issuers. "A bill that turbocharges the stablecoin market, while facilitating the president's corruption and undermining national security, financial stability, and consumer protection is worse than no bill at all," said Senator Elizabeth Warren, a Democrat, in remarks on the Senate floor in May. 🚨 BREAKING: The U.S. Senate votes TODAY at 4:30 PM ET on the GENIUS Act — a landmark stablecoin bill. If it passes, it could mark the beginning of the end for Tether in the U.S., imposing strict reserve, audit, and regulatory requirements. 🔒 Require federal/state licenses to… — Jacob King (@JacobKinge) June 17, 2025 The bill could face further changes in the House of Representatives. In a statement, the Conference of State Bank Supervisors called for 'critical changes' to mitigate financial stability risks. 'CSBS remains concerned with the dramatic and unsupported expansion of the authority of uninsured banks to conduct money transmission or custody activities nationwide without the approval or oversight of host state supervisors,' said Brandon Milhorn, president and CEO of the Conference of State Bank Supervisors, in a statement.
Business Recorder
13 hours ago
- Business Recorder
PML-N senator rejects federal budget, slams powers proposed for FBR officers
ISLAMABAD: A treasury senator from Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) has handed an outright rejection to the proposed federal budget while slamming as coercive, the powers proposed for the officers of Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) in the budget draft, which, according to her, would lead to more corruption. 'I reject this budget—the powers being proposed for the FBR commissioners, they are coercive, which will lead to more corruption, and violate the basic rights and the rule of law,' said Saadia Abbasi in the Upper House of the Parliament on Tuesday. She dismissed the budget as a 'non-starter— anti-business— anti-poor— anti-people,' urging Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to review the policies announced in the proposed federal budget. Abbasi strongly criticised her party's federal government for taxing the solarisation. In addition, the senator also took on the policy of tax filers and non-filers, which she said, was followed 'nowhere in the world.' 'I am sitting on the treasury benches in this House, and I am expected to speak in favour of the government—In this paradox of trying to please the government, and speaking with some degree of intellectual honesty, I would go with my conscience,' she said, as the senator continued to lambast N-League's federal government over its economic policies. Apart from that, the Senate session was marked with apparent disinterest of the treasury side amidst the absence of most of the federal cabinet members, a scenario strongly criticised by the opposition senators. Law Minister Azam Tarar responded that the ministers could not attend the House proceedings due to their participation in the finance committees of Senate and National Assembly. Mohsin Aziz from Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) criticised the government for 'strangulating the registered taxpayers' in the country. Another PTI legislator Aon Abbas Buppi slammed the government for 'destroying the agriculture sector.' He demanded of Chairman Senate Yousaf Raza Gilani to exercise his powers and issue the production order of incarcerated PTI Senator Ejaz Chaudhary. Amir Chishti from Muttahida Qaumi Movement Pakistan (MQMP) also opposed the powers proposed to the FBR in the new federal budget, saying this step would adversely affect the business community. Waqar Mehdi from Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) invited Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb to 'spend a day with the labourers' to know their financial hardships. 'This budget is not public-friendly,' he said. Aimal Wali Khan from Awami National Party (ANP) said the government deprived 60 percent of Pakistanis of their 'right to live' in the proposed federal budget. The House was adjourned till today (Wednesday). Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
Express Tribune
17 hours ago
- Express Tribune
PPP workers decry favouritism
Discontent is growing among Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) workers in Rawalpindi over being sidelined during Eidul Azha celebrations, particularly regarding selective meetings with President Asif Ali Zardari. During a press conference, PPP Rawalpindi Cantonment President Malik Qasim Idrees, Punjab Council Member Banaras Chaudhry, Tauqeer Abbasi, Nasir Mir, and Abdul Rehman Tokli voiced strong concerns over what they termed a conspiracy to block dedicated workers from meeting the President. They specifically accused Presidential spokesperson and former MPA Aamir Fida Paracha of creating hurdles and discouraging grassroots members from accessing leadership. The party leaders said they were deeply disappointed by the demoralisation of loyal male and female party workers and alleged that a deliberate conspiracy had kept PPP's allied organisations from meeting the President. They claimed that former Baitul Maal MD Aamir Paracha failed to communicate the true sentiments and grievances of party workers to the leadership, which has harmed the party's unity. Criticism was also directed at the repeated nomination of weak candidates in Rawalpindi.
