Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal-Bhutto Zardari has issued a stern warning to the federal government that his party will quit the coalition government if centre does not roll back the controversial canals project on Indus River.
Bilawal while addressing a public rally in Hyderabad, stated, “The federal government must immediately roll back its controversial canal project, otherwise the PPP cannot work with you [Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz].”
Tensions between the coalition partners are rising on the project called Green Pakistan Initiative (GPI). Under this project, six canals will be built across the country to irrigate millions of acres of barren lands, mainly the Cholistan desert, costing around $3.3 billion.
The project was launched in 2023 by Chief of Army Staff General Syed Asim Munir and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
The ambitious project aims to build canals across all four provinces; however, PPP has outright rejected the development, arguing that it infringes on Sindh’s water shares.
Majority of political parties, civil rights groups and nationalists parties have condemned the canals project by staging protests across Sindh.
During the joint parliaments session earlier this year, President Asif Ali Zardari also warned the lawmakers that some of the government’s unilateral policies were causing a “grave strain” on the federation.
As Pakistan faces massive climate change-related challenges, the water levels across Sindh has come under great strain. Indus River is the main source of freshwater supply to the province.
Read more: Federal govt abolishes 31,000 posts under right-sizing policy
he federal government has abolished nearly 31,000 government positions under its right-sizing policy. Cabinet Secretary Kamran Ali Afzal informed that 7,724 additional posts are in the process of being eliminated. A total of 1,102 positions from Grade 17 to 22 have already been abolished. The government expects to save Rs30 billion as a result of this downsizing initiative.
The briefing was given by Cabinet Secretary Kamran Ali Afzal during a meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on Finance, chaired by Saleem Mandviwalla.
