Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif called on Monday a meeting of the Common Interests Council (CCI) to address the controversy about the construction of new channels on the Indo River, said Sharjeel Inam Memon, Minister of Sindh, Inam Memon.
The meeting, initially scheduled for May 2, was convened to the request of the Government of Sindh and will be held in Islamabad later today.
The main ministers of the four provinces are expected to, together with the Minister of Law, Azam Nazeer Tarar, the Minister of Finance, Muhammad Aurengzeb, and the Minister of Health, Mustafa Kamal, attend.
Last week, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif announced the suspension of new channel projects until a special committee, formed to review the concerns, reaches a consensus. He stressed that unilateral decisions would not be made regarding the construction of the channel without agreement between the provinces.
The 1991 Water Distribution Agreement governs the distribution of water from the Indo River between the provinces, with the authority of the Indo River System (IRSA) responsible for its implementation and dispute resolution.
Meanwhile, sitting protests and closing strikes continued in several cities of Sindh against the proposed construction of six new channels.
Previously, Sharjeel Inam Memon urged all political parties and the lawyers community to reopen the roads to guarantee transport without problems with goods and avoid further economic losses.
He warned that the closure of the roads is severely impacting the public, the movement of cattle, import export activities, farmers and the poor.
“The closure of the roads has severely impacted the public, livestock, imports, exports, farmers and the poor,” Memon said, urging them to be taken immediately to restore traffic.
Memon praised the “tireless efforts and the effective strategy” used by Bilawal, which he had successfully resolved the channel dispute. He stressed that the problem has now been completely approached.
“This problem will close permanently after the official CCI meeting,” he said.
