- Resolution signed by Ayub, Zartaj, Ali Muhammad.
- Look for a CCI emergency meeting within 15 days.
- It also requires the neutral audit of the IRSA certificate.
Islamabad: Pakistan Tehreek-e-insaf (PTI) submitted a resolution to the Secretariat of the National Assembly on Thursday, expressing solid reserves on the construction of industrial river channels under the initiative of Green Pakistan (GPI).
The resolution, directed by the opposition chief Omar Ayub Khan and signed by the parliamentary chief Zartaj Gul, Ali Muhammad Khan, Mujahid Khan and other members of the party, expressed an immediate stop of the CHOLISTAN channel project until the constitutional provisions are responded and that the concerns of the SIND are discussed.
The document, entitled “Resolution on the fight against Sindh’s reserves concerning the Green Initiative of Pakistan to build channels on the Industry River”, calls on the federal government to convene an emergency meeting of the Common Interest Board (CCI) within 15 days.
The meeting, he says, should discuss the province of the Sindh objections and guarantee the contribution of all stakeholders.
The resolution underlines that the projects of the Punjab canal, approved by the Central Development Working Party (CDWP) in October 2024 under the GPI, could have a significant impact on the share of Sindh water, agriculture and the ecological system.
It requires that the construction of cholistan canals be suspended until the CCI grants official approval, in accordance with articles 154 and 155 of the Constitution.
The share of the Sindh must be protected
The Party based on Imran Khan called for a moratorium on all new channel projects on the Industry River until the 1991 water distribution agreement was fully applied.
This includes the security of 48.76 million acres (MAF) of Sindh (MAF) and the maintenance of an environmental speed of 10 MAF under the Kotri dam to preserve the Delta of the Indus.
The resolution also means that an independent audit of the Certificate of Water Availability of the Industry System Authority (IRSA) be carried out within 60 days by a neutral panel of hydrologists and environmental experts.
The results must be submitted before the National Assembly to assess compliance with the 1991 agreement and assess the environmental impact on the Sindh.
Transparent consultations requested
The PTI demanded that all decisions on the project be made by a transparent process involving elected representatives of Sindh, civil society and stakeholders downstream.
The resolution provides that public hearings are documented and made accessible before the ICC makes any decision.
He concludes by declaring that the resolution should be transmitted to the federal government, to the CCI and other organizations relevant for urgent action.
In a demonstration in Karachi this Sunday, the Grand Democratic Alliance (GDA) and the PTI, the opposition warned that it would hinder Karachi water supply, the largest city in the country and the capital of Sindh.
In March, the Sindh Assembly also unanimously adopted a resolution against the project – inaugurated on February 15.
Meanwhile, the war of words between the governments of Punjab and Sindh intensified on the controversial project of the Cholistan Canal, which has become a key point of discord between the Pakistani peoples (PPP) party and the Muslim League of Pakistan (PML-N) recently.