Sherry demands urgent CCI meeting over controversial canals project

ISLAMABAD: Vice President of Pakistan Peoples Party and Parliamentary leader of PPP in the Senate, Senator Sherry Rehman, has called for an immediate meeting of the Council of Common Interests (CCI) to address the alarming water crisis and to stop plans for controversial canal projects that could deepen the inter-provincial discord.

“For the first time in a hundred years, the Indus is facing a record decline in water flows. When the country is running dry, the government must explain where the water for these new canals will come from,” she said while speaking to the media outside the Parliament House on Tuesday. The senator emphasized that the PPP leadership—including Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and President Asif Ali Zardari—has been consistently raising concerns about the construction of new canals without consensus, calling it a matter of “life and death” for downstream communities. “Water scarcity is not just Sindh’s problem—it is a national emergency that affects every citizen and livelihood,” she stressed. “Without water, our agriculture, livestock, and economy cannot function. We are demanding our constitutional and moral right to fair water distribution.”

She urged the government to move beyond temporary political settlements and address the core issue through institutional mechanisms. “The issue must be resolved in the CCI, not through backdoor negotiations. We must act now to avoid further damage to national unity.” Underscoring the situation in drought-hit districts like Badin, Thatta, and Sujawal, PPP Vice President warned of growing discontent among farmers and local communities. “If we are pushed to the wall, we will resist—peacefully, but firmly. The PPP knows how to stand its ground for the rights of the people.” Senator Sherry Rehman also questioned the validity of recent IRSA reports and criticised the lack of transparency in water allocations. “No province’s share can be diverted unilaterally. That’s not cooperative federalism; that’s injustice.” She said: “Let’s resolve this urgently, with seriousness and dialogue—not drama. We hope that reason and the Constitution will prevail.”