Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah warned the federal government against moving ahead with the Marot Canal project. He said the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) would strongly resist any such action. Shah spoke out during a media briefing in Garhi Khuda Bakhsh on Thursday.
Shah clarified that no construction had started. Only preliminary profiling was done over a few hundred feet. He criticized media reports that spread false information and urged them to be more responsible.
The Marot Canal project plans to divert water from the Sulemanki Barrage to the Cholistan Desert. Shah insisted that the Sindh government must be consulted, as required by the constitution. He also mentioned that the Sindh government had asked for a Council of Common Interests meeting but had not received a response.
Shah expressed concern about the project worsening Sindh’s water crisis. He stressed that Sindh needs at least 20.5 million acre-feet (MAF) of water to protect its delta. He called on Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to cancel the project to prevent further tension between provinces.
