The Federal Government has decided to form a high -level negotiation committee to address the concerns of the Popular Party of Pakistan (PPP) about the proposed construction of six Channels of the Indo River, said Express News.
The Committee will be led by the Vice Prime Minister Ishaq and will include the Minister of Planning Ahsan Iqbal, as well as the advisor of the First Minister of Political Affairs, Rana Sanaullah. Water and agricultural experts are also expected to join.
The authorities said that the main role of the committee will be to participate in the dialogue with the leadership of PPP and other interested parties to find a political solution to the objections raised with respect to the project.
The decision was made with the approval of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who is also expected to meet President Asif Ali Zardari and the president of PPP, Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, soon discuss more thoroughly to solve a strategy to solve the problem.
It is likely that meetings between party leaders take place both in Karachi and Islamabad in the next few days. According to a senior PML-N leader, detailed consultations were recently made within the party on the political and provincial reaction to the Indo Canal project.
He added that during those consultations, the leader of PML-N, Nawaz Sharif, and Prime Minister Shehbaz agreed that the matter should be resolved through dialogue. “In the light of those discussions, the federal government has decided to form an empowered committee to hold conversations with the PPP and others,” he said.
The Committee will inform PPP about the technical benefits of the channel project and seek to understand the objections of the party. A comprehensive technical review will also be carried out to develop a path to follow.
The Government is also considering calling a session of the Common Interests Council (CCI) and can call a parties conference (APC) if necessary. The dialogue between the parties is expected to begin soon, with PML-N indicating that it can review their strategy depending on political developments.
