Federation’s ‘injustices’ to Sindh highlighted at Jeay Sindh Mahaz conference

Participants of the Sindh Ittehad Conference organised by the Jeay Sindh Mahaz at the Karachi Press Club termed the construction of new canals on the Indus River illegal, unconstitutional, and in contravention to international laws.

The host of the conference, Jeay Sindh Mahaz’s Riaz Chandio, said many people in Sindh’s cities believed that the issue of canals was only of concern for the rural areas of Sindh. He added that if the Indus River lacked water, residents of Karachi and Hyderabad would also face drinking water shortage.

He added that the struggle to save the Indus River would continue. Due to water shortage, mangrove forests had been destroyed and millions of acres of land had become barren, he said.

Economist Kaiser Bengali said the Green Initiative Program under the SICF was illegal and unconstitutional. Grand Democratic Alliance (GDA) leader Husnain Mirza said the Indus River was the only drinking water source for the people of Sindh and extracting its water through canals would directly impact 3.8 million people of the province.

He called the canal plan an anti-Sindh conspiracy, and vowed to continue fighting for Sindh’s rights on all fronts. Another GDA leader Sardar Abdul Rahim said the issue of Sindh’s water was of utmost importance. He called for forming committees and launching awareness campaigns in villages and towns against the injustices to Sindh.

The GDA’s Dr Safdar Abbasi said this was a fundamental struggle for the people living at the tail end of the river. He added that Sindh had already handed over its gas, petroleum, coal, ports and other natural resources to the federal government, yet the federation continued injustices.

He said the public mandate was stolen on February 8, 2024 and the 26th constitutional amendment was a murder of justice. He maintained that the water shortage in the Indus River had already destroyed Sindh’s delta. He warned the government not to push the GDA to take to the streets under the leadership of the Pir Pagara as matters would slip out of control if that happened.