Latest news with #CouncilofCommonInterest
Express Tribune
29-04-2025
- Politics
- Express Tribune
In abeyance
Listen to article That a major project had been given a go-ahead without a consensus among the various stakeholders was bound to come back haunting. The six-canal project - the lifeline for the Green Pakistan Initiative that is meant to ensure food security in the country through corporate farming, besides earning much-needed foreign exchange via export of surplus food - has been paused in line with the decision taken at a meeting of the Council of Common Interest held on Monday. As agreed at the constitutional forum, tasked with resolving power-sharing disputes between the provinces, the project will remain halted till the time "mutual understanding is evolved among the provinces". A committee, with representation from the federation and all federating units, will also be constituted to pursue a consensus by allaying the concerns of all provinces alongside ensuring the country's food and ecological security. The decisions taken by the CCI means clam in Sindh where civil society, political parties and nationalist groups were up in arms against the decision to construct six canals to irrigate the barren lands of Cholistan in Punjab as part of the Green Pakistan Initiative, calling it infringement on the rights of low riparian segments of the populace. Divisive though it is, the high-profile project with global reach promises a roadmap to genuine development and significant foreign exchange inflow for a country long mired in a serious balance of payments crisis. But with a major collation partner, the PPP, in aversion, it's a catch-22 situation for the PML-led ruling dispensation. So while a good initiative — currently held in abeyance — risks becoming another Kalabagh dam project, the decisions to be taken at the next round of debate should reflect the supreme national interest.
Express Tribune
25-04-2025
- Politics
- Express Tribune
Canal row
Listen to article Politics of convenience prevailed as estranged allies in the coalition agreed to shelve the contentious canal issue. The proposed construction of six water canals on River Indus had almost torpedoed smooth sailing at the federal government; and Sindh was up in arms, unrelenting to compromise as a lower riparian entity. The somersault incidentally came hours after India unilaterally held in abeyance the 1960 Indus Water Treaty, providing a face-saving to the warring allies as a consolation to patch up politically. The official word, however, is to delay the decision until the Council of Common Interest, a constitutional body on intra-provincial affairs, meets and deliberates upon its pros and cons. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and PPP chairperson Bilawal Zardari looked somber as they played to the gallery by defusing the crisis. The war of words between the two allies and protests across Sindh had kept the beleaguered coalition on tenterhook for days. It is a given that no political homework was done before the ambitious decision to construct the canals to irrigate the barren lands of Cholistan in Punjab was announced at the inauguration of Green Pakistan Initiative. While the corporate farming scheme is indeed beneficial for the country — as it attracts valuable foreign investment and ensures food security — a consensus among the broad spectrum of stakeholders as well as experts is essential for the gigantic project to go ahead. With the controversy taking a backseat, now is the time for political parties across the board to sit down and jot down a national agenda. Provincial coordination is one of the weakest and all the federating units must pay attention to it. The revulsion in Balochistan and K-P, and the sense of parochialism seen in Sindh and Northern Areas, is all owing to the disgust that is there because of uneven distribution of resources, and the lack of involvement of locals in decision-making. Empowering the people, respecting their mandate and ensuring that no decisions are made in haste to serve vested interests will take care of a coordinated Pakistan.
