Save Indus Movement to hold rally to safeguard Sindh’s water rights

The Save Indus Movement has announced holding a major public rally in Karachi on May 11 to uphold the constitution’s supremacy, and safeguard Sindh’s water rights.

The decision was taken on Thursday during a meeting hosted by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Sindh President Haleem Adil Sheikh at the Adil House in Karachi. Chaired by the movement’s convener Syed Zain Shah, it was attended by leaders of various political and nationalist parties.

The meeting hailed the temporary suspension of the controversial canals project as a significant victory for Sindh’s people. They emphasised that this outcome was the result of widespread resistance from farmers, lawyers, students, labourers and journalists, who had been protesting and holding sit-ins across the province for weeks.

The Council of Common Interests (CCI) on April 29 terminated the controversial canals project after an 11-day sit-in at Babarlo that disconnected Sindh’s land connectivity with the rest of the country, and a large-scale protest wave throughout the province.

During Thursday’s meeting all party representatives unanimously condemned the CCI’s notification, declaring it “unconstitutional” and “illegal”. They said the CCI’s decision to approve the project under the constitution’s Article 155(2) without consensus effectively handed over Sindh’s water resources to federal bureaucracy, raising fears of potential attempts to divert water from Sindh.

They also censured the Pakistan Peoples Party and its co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari for backing the project, and urged them to apologise to the people for the alleged act of betrayal.

They demanded the immediate cancellation of land leases granted to foreign companies under corporate farming initiatives, arguing that food security should instead be ensured by utilising fertile lands across the country through modern agricultural technology. They reiterated their belief that real power lies with the people, not with “Form-47 governments”, a reference to allegedly rigged election results. They concluded that Pakistan cannot progress without true public representation, and vowed to continue their struggle until Sindh’s constitutional rights are fully protected.

The Save Indus Movement emerged as a grassroots coalition of political, nationalist and civil society groups to oppose the federal government’s plan to construct new canals drawing water from the Indus River. Sit-ins and protests erupted across Sindh, with demonstrators claiming the projects threaten the province’s already dwindling water supply. Protesters argued that being the lower riparian, Sindh is constitutionally entitled to protection from upstream diversions without its consent. The movement has since grown into a powerful voice for provincial autonomy and environmental justice.