Anti-canal sit-in keeps National Highway blocked for 3rd day

KARACHI: Massive sit-ins across Sindh against construction of canals on A huge number of people from every corner of Sindh gathered at National Highway near Babarlo, district Khairpur, against the canals project on the Indus River.

Organized by the lawyers community, mainly Karachi Bar Association (KBA), the protest is being described as one of the largest in the province’s history.

Many other sit-ins were also staged at multiple key points, Indus Highway at Jamshoro, Daira More, Kashmore and other spots with the gathering drawing people from towns, villages, and cities across the province. Participants included farmers, activists, students, political workers, civil society members, and ordinary citizens. People from various walks of life in Karachi also marched towards Karachi Press Club.

At Karachi Press Club leaders of ‘Save River Indus Committee’ Syed Zain Shah, Dr Safdar Abbasi, Zulifqar Bhutto Junior and others addressed the gathering and woved to continue their protest till the canal project is scrapped.

A delegation of prominent writers, poets, and intellectuals from Hyderabad Jami Chandio, Amar Sindhu, educationist Professor Yaqoob Chandio and others joined the protest.

Sindh’s stakeholders insist that no new projects can be undertaken without their explicit consent.

Prominent lawyer leaders, addressing the sit-in on Sunday, vowed to continue the movement through courts, public awareness campaigns, and sustained protests until their demands are met.

“Indus is not just a river; it is the soul of Sindh,” said one of the poet-speakers at the Hyderabad gathering. “If you kill the river, you kill a civilization.”