Protests against controversial canal projects drawing water from the Indus River continued for the eleventh consecutive day across various regions of Sindh.
As a result of the demonstrations, all supply routes from Sindh to Punjab remain completely blocked for the eleventh day.
Protesters have declared that no highways from Sindh to Punjab will be reopened until all canal projects constructed by Punjab on the Indus River are dismantled and military companies withdraw from occupied lands in Sindh. They have further announced plans to intensify their movement.
Violent incidents have also occurred during the demonstrations, with several individuals being detained by the police.
In this context, the Jiye Sindh Qaumi Mahaz (JSQM) — Bashir Khan Group — has announced the closure of all railway lines and stations connecting Sindh to Punjab on 11th May.
Other nationalist parties have also declared their intention to expand the protest movement across Sindh and to organise large-scale marches in Karachi and Hyderabad.
Meanwhile, incidents of public outrage and the surrounding of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) offices have been reported in several parts of Sindh.
It is worth noting that sit-ins at border points such as Babarlou and Sukkur have completely shut down all routes from Sindh to Punjab over the past eleven days. All food supplies and goods transport from Sindh to Punjab, including shipments from Karachi’s ports, have been indefinitely suspended, leaving thousands of containers stranded on Sindh’s highways.
This blockade has delivered a severe blow to Punjab’s economy. According to a joint press conference held by the Faisalabad and Karachi Chambers of Commerce, billions of rupees worth of exports and imports have been lost over the past ten days due to the highway and port closures.
These protests and sit-ins continue across Sindh against the federal government’s plan to extract six new canals from the River Indus, with nationalist parties, lawyers, farmers, writers, and civil society members calling it an attempt to seize Sindh’s water resources.
The $720 million project, proposed under the “Green Pakistan” initiative, aims to divert water from the Indus to develop agricultural land in the Cholistan desert for a military-managed agribusiness. Critics argue that the plan violates Sindh’s water rights and could severely damage its agricultural sector.