SUKKUR: The legal fraternity protesting against the controversial canals project on Monday evening decided to continue their sit-ins across Sindh till they receive a ‘clear’ notification regarding permanent cancelation of the plan to construct six canals on the Indus River.
The decision was announced after the meeting of the Council of Common Interests that endorsed the federal government’s move to halt the new canals initiative until “mutual understanding” could be achieved among provinces.
The leadership of lawyers held a meeting at Babarloi Bypass in Khairpur to discussed the outcome of the CCI meeting.
They unanimously rejected what they described as the ambiguous notification issued by the federal government and announced that their protests and sit-ins would continue across Sindh.
They said that they were not satisfied with unclear notification as they [Lawyers] needed a detailed notification stating permanent cancelation of controversial canals.
Demand ‘clear’ notification to permanently abolish six canals projects
They vowed to intensify their protests and said that they would consider other options including to block main railways tracks.
Earlier, lawyers’ sit-in at Babarloi bypass in Khairpur against controversial canals and corporate farming entered 11th day on Monday as their colleagues and different parties and groups staged protests across Sindh during ongoing agitation against the federal plans.
Karachi Bar Association president Amir Nawaz Warraich told media persons at the sit-in camp that their protest would continue.
He said the lawyers’ consultative committee would hold a huddle on May 2 to announce a future course of action. Negotiations would continue on the remaining three demands, he said.
Awami Tehreek’s central senior vice president, Noor Ahmad Katiar, told the media and party workers at the camp that Sindhi nation would continue its peaceful democratic struggle to protect its land and river.
He demanded immediate withdrawal of the notification allocating 52,713 acres of Sindh’s land to Green Corporate Initiative Private Limited under the guise of corporate farming and so-called Green Corporate Initiative.
He called for the rejection of the Board of Investment Ordinance Amendment Bill, 2023, and complete abolition of the Special Investment Facilitation Council, an institution created through this bill.
Advocate Sarfaraz Metlo, president of Sindh High Court Bar Association, said at a gathering of lawyers in the Jacobabad District Bar Association office that until the decisions to construct canals on Indus and sell Sindh’s land under corporate farming were withdrawn and a written order was issued, their movement would continue.
In Kandhkot, all the roads and highways leading to Punjab from Kandhkot remained blocked for the eighth consecutive day, Monday, due to a sit-in by lawyers and activists of nationalist parties. On Monday, delegations of PTI, journalists, doctors, teachers and students expressed solidarity with the participants of the sit-in against canals.
Lawyers agitating against the controversial canals for several weeks, held sit-ins at various spots in Larkana and Qambar-Shahdadkot districts on Monday. The participants also strongly condemned the aggressive police action against protesting lawyers in Karachi, Kandhkot, Jacobabad and certain other cities and towns.
They boycotted proceedings in high court, district and sessions courts and lower courts in Larkana and Qambar-Shahdadkot districts and blocked the entry of police personnel into the court buildings.
They expressed solidarity with their colleagues who have been holding a prolonged sit-in at Babarloi, Khairpur.
Led by senior lawyers including Mohammed Ismail Abro, Ghulam Mustafa Magsi, lawyers in Larkana started their march from their different courts and converged outside Jinnah Bagh to hold a sit-in to voice their rejection of the controversial canals project. They in strongest terms condemned the Sindh police for applying baton charge on their professional colleagues, lobbying teargas shells, resorting to aerial firing and uprooting the their protest camps in Karachi, Kandhkot, Jacobabad and other areas.
Separately, activists of different political parties and nationalist groups took out rallies and held demonstrations at various places in the two districts to express solidarity with the agitating lawyers
Dr Mazhar Mughal of the SUP, advocates Jawed Buledi of PTI, Siraj Kalhoro of JSM, advocate Saddam of SPSF and others led their respective entity’s rallies, which ended outside the local press club.
Another procession was taken out from Sir Shahnawaz Bhutto Memorial Library which was organised by the Shaheed Bhagat Singh Study Circle. It was led by Amir Chandio, Syed Imran Shah and others
In Umerkot, lawyers set up a protest camp and held a sit-in on the district and sessions court’s entrance.
Advocated Sharif Bheel, Liaquat Sehto, Mian Bakhsh Khoso, Islamuddin Rahimoon, Parshottam Khatri, Ejaz Halepoto, Ayub Sheikh, Lala Bheel and leaders of the district’s legal fraternity led the protesters.
Meanwhile, Umerkot’s Pharma Club organised a rally which started from Moti Chowk and ended outside the local press club. Later, the club’s leaders, including Jai Kumar Khetani, Abdul Jabbar and Raja Khetani joined the protesting lawyers outside the sessions court to express solidarity with them.
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader and former Member of National Assembly Lal Malhi also joined the sit-in outside the Umerkot Sessions Court. He rejected the canals project and endorsed all the demands put forward by the agitating lawyers.
Published in Dawn, April 29th, 2025
About The Author
