Islamabad:
As the protests are enraged in Sindh, the “Common Interest Council (CCI)” called hurried “did not clearly announce that the six -channel project was being completely abandoned, but simply supported a previous position of the federal government that the project only proceeded if a consensus between the provinces and the CCI are achieved.
The carefully designed statement issued after meeting 52 of the ICC did not specifically declared that the six -channel project is over, since it was only ruled that the “provisional approval of ECNEC” and “the availability of IRSA water is returned, with the addresses to the planning and IRSA division to consult with all the interested parties, go to any concern” until it is reached.
The ICC, the highest constitutional body trained to decide, formulate and regulate policies on interprovincial and center of center matters, was scheduled before on May 2, but due to a worsening situation in Sindh due to the protests ongoing against the six channel project, it met on Monday.
As decided at the April 24 meeting between Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and the president of the PPP, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, on the issue of six channels, the CCI simply supported the decisions taken during the meeting of Prime Minister Shehbaz-Bilawal, in which it was decided that “new channels will not be built without mutual understanding of CCI” and the Government of Pakistan not It will move until the office occurs until all the new channels occur.
The CCI “supports the federal government policy”, an official statement published after the meeting declared, adding that “the federal government has decided that new channels will not be built without mutual understanding of CCI. It has been decided that the federal government will not move more until mutual understanding is evolved between the provinces.”
The CCI met in the Chamber of Pineos with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in the president and attended the vice president Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ishaq Dar, Defense Minister Khawaja Asif, Federal Minister of Cashmir Affairs, Gilgit-Baltistan, engineer Amir Muqam and four provincial ministers-Syed Murad Murad Murad Ali Shah, Marym Nawaz, Sarfaraz Bugti and Alurur.
“In view of the above, after the deliberations, the Council decided that the provisional approval of ECNEC dated February 7, 2024 for the construction of new channels and the IRSA water availability certificate issued at its meeting on January 17, 2024 will be returned,” an official statement issued after the 52nd CCI meeting declared.
Subsequently, he said, “the planning and IRSA division are aimed at guaranteeing consultation with all interested parties, in the interest of national cohesion and to address each and every one of the concerns until mutual understanding is reached.”
In addition, he said, the federal government is “involving all provincial governments to draw a long -term consensus roadmap for the development of agricultural policy infrastructure and water management throughout Pakistan.”
He pointed out that the water rights of all provinces are enshrined in the water distribution agreement-1991 and the water policy-2018; with the consensus of all interested parties. Subsequently, to relieve the concerns of all provinces and to guarantee the ecological security and ecological security of Pakistan, it was decided that a committee is being formed with representation of the Federation and all the provinces.
The statement declared that the Committee will propose solutions to the long -term agricultural needs of Pakistan and the use of water from all provinces in line with the two consensus documents. The forum pointed out that water is one of the most valuable products and the creators of the Constitution recognized this, which requires that all water disputes resolve in a friendly way through mutual understanding and concerns of any province will be addressed through due diligence among all interested parties.
The problem dealt with the CCI meeting since the PPP has expressed serious reservations on the channel plan, which is initially expected to meet the irrigation needs of the initiative of Pakistan Green (GPI) in the Cholistan desert. The project was inaugurated by Punjab Prime Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif, and Army personnel (COAS) Gen also on February 15.
During the meeting, the CCI also strongly condemned the “unilateral, illegal and irresponsible actions of India after the attack of the pahalgama.” The statement said that the CCI, while expressing national aspirations, sent a message of unity and solidarity to the entire country and the nation in the context of Indian actions and any aggression by India.
“Pakistan is a peaceful and responsible country, but we know how to defend ourselves,” said CCI’s statement, and added “all provincial ministers express unity and national solidarity in unison against the illegal actions of India.”
In the midst of political struggles, the forum also praised that the Senate has unanimously adopted a resolution against the illegal and irresponsible actions of India. “Pakistan has the right to protect his interest in water in case of suspension of the swing of the Indo waters and the blockade of Pakistan water,” said CCI.
On April 24, following the Indian movement to suspend the swing of the Indo waters, the federal government had decided to stop the contentious channel project until a consensus was reached between the center and the provinces on the subject through the mutual understanding of CCI.
Previously, the CCI meeting was scheduled for May 2, but at the request of the Sindh government due to an ongoing protest in the province, the meeting was convened on Monday night. The sitting and blockades on the key highways, which now last more than 10 days, have interrupted the movement of goods between Sindh and Punjab, causing a shortage of gasoline and food supplies. The stranded transporters reported growing damage to vehicles as the protests continued without resolution.
At the previous meeting between Prime Minister Shehbaz and the president of PPP, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, it was agreed that the federal government does not build new channels without mutual understanding of CCI and would not take a step without the consent of all provinces. It was also decided that CCI would ratify the decision in the next few days.
The decision had helped end the fight against political struggle and uncertainty, which seized the country for several days. However, the sitting of the lawyers in Babarloi Bypass on the National Highway in Khairpur continued and forced federal governments and Sindh to call the CCI meeting on Thursday.
Previously, Bilawal had said that three provinces had raised objections to the Kalabagh dam, and now, a joint decision was made that “channels will not be built without a mutual agreement.”
Sindh cm
The Sindh Prime Minister Murad Ali Shah confirmed on Monday that the dispute on the construction of new channels has been resolved friendly, after high -level discussions between federal and provincial leadership.
Speaking to the media after the CCI meeting, Shah expressed his gratitude to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif for taking Sindh’s concerns seriously and addressing them carefully. “I am grateful to the prime minister for recognizing the sensitivity of the channel problem,” he said.
The prime minister revealed that he was present during the meeting between the president of PPP, Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, where it was agreed that no new channel project would proceed without mutual consensus between the provinces.
“It has been decided that the federal government will not advance with any new channel without consulting the provinces and obtain an agreement,” Shah emphasized.
In addition, he declared that the water distribution agreement would be completely respected, and the federal government had withdrawn the previous Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) of the approval of February 7. “The planning and IRSA division (authority of the Indo River system) have been aimed at consulting all interested parties before any future movement,” he added.
When addressing public concerns, Shah clarified that money had not been assigned or spent on the controversial project of the Cholistan channel, refuting the statements that circulate in political circles. “How can channels be built when a single rupee was not even spent?” He questioned.
The CM also criticized attempts to politicize the problem, saying that President Asif Ali Zardari was unnecessarily dragged into the controversy. “President Zardari did not want to talk about this issue, but took the opportunity to clarify during the joint session of Parliament, stating that a decision would not be made without consensus,” Shah said, lamenting that even after the clarification, attempts were made to sow confusion.
“Personally it guaranteed that the channel is not being built, but still, some were not willing to accept security,” he added.
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Speaking to journalists after the meeting, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa principal prime minister Ali Amin Gandapur said a reaffirmed commitment was made to guarantee the same water rights for all provinces.
During the meeting, he confirmed, the decision to build new channels from the Indo River had retired. “It has been decided to solve problems through mutual understanding,” he added.
Gandapur added that three of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa’s demands were approved to be included in the agenda for the next CCI meeting. He said that a review of the Prize of the National Finance Commission (NFC) will also be part of the Agenda of the next session.
The prime minister also said that the agenda to recognize tobacco as a formal harvest will also be included in the next meeting. He described the inclusion of these demands on the agenda as a great victory for KP people.
