Centre feels the heat as canals issue boils up
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As tensions rise over the controversial canal projects and the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) sharpens its stance, PML-N President Nawaz Sharif and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif have instructed party leaders to initiate dialogue with the coalition partner to address concerns.
In a statement issued on Saturday, Adviser to the Prime Minister on Political and Public Affairs Rana Sanaullah said the party leadership has directed members to resolve the matter through consultation with the PPP.
He stressed that the PML-N remains firmly committed to the fair and equitable distribution of water and other resources among all federating units.
"PPP is part of the federal government. When holding constitutional offices, it is even more important to speak with a sense of responsibility," he stressed.
Sanaullah said that his party holds deep respect for the leadership of PPP, and that no injustice is possible in the presence of the 1991 Water Accord and the IRSA Act of 1992, which govern inter-provincial water sharing.
He clarified that no province's water can be diverted to another, as there are constitutional mechanisms and laws in place to ensure fairness in distribution. "The country has proper procedures to guarantee this," he said.
The adviser cautioned against politicising the issue of water, urging that such matters should be resolved through discussions at the table rather than public confrontation.
"We believe the strength of the federation lies in the strength of its constituent units, and we intend to continue this approach as we have in the past," he said.
Sanaullah said that as a party with a firm belief in the constitution and democracy, the PML-N would never compromise on the rights of the provinces and their people.
"Dialogue and consultation are the only viable solutions to all problems," he added.
Sanaullah's statement comes a day after PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari threatened to pull the plug on his party's parliamentary backing of the "stubborn" and "tone-deaf" federal government.
Bilawal fired a warning shot at the ruling ally's bows, demanding immediate scrapping of the controversial canals project or the PPP will abandon the government, leaving it stranded and severing all ties.
"The PPP is demanding that the federal government should immediately stop the controversial canals project and accept our objections, otherwise the PPP won't go along with you," he cautioned at his party's public meeting in Hyderabad on Friday evening.
Meanwhile, Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah on Saturday said that the controversial canal project would die down before the 2025-26 federal budget.
The CM was responding to questions from journalists in Sindh's Saeedabad area when he claimed that the project would be shelved or halted before the federal budget.
"Sindh's people know that only PPP can stop this project," he said, adding that approval of this canal was given by Irsa during the tenure of the caretaker government.
"President Asif Zardari made it clear in his address to the joint session of parliament that he could not support canals; thus, all conspiracies failed," Murad added. "The April 18 public meeting in Hyderabad division was larger than the previous rally staged by the party at the same ground."
Murad announced that a public gathering would be held in Sukkur on April 25, followed by gatherings in other divisional headquarters.
"The party will hold public rallies against the canals in Shaheed Benazirabad, Mirpurkhas and Karachi," the CM was quoted as saying.
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