Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah on Thursday said the federal government cannot proceed with the controversial Marot Canal project without Sindh’s consent, warning that the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) would resist any such move.
“How can the canal be constructed when it hasn’t even received approval?” Shah asked, firmly opposing the proposed construction during a media briefing in Garhi Khuda Bakhsh.
He declared that as long as the PPP exists, the canal would not be built, adding that instead of opposing the canals, some political parties had resorted to protesting against the PPP itself.
The Marot Canal is a proposed irrigation channel designed to run from the Sulemanki Barrage on the Sutlej River to Fort Abbas in the Cholistan Desert.
Clarifying the current status of the project, Shah said that only preliminary profiling spanning a few hundred feet was conducted in July, which does not amount to the start of construction. He criticised several media outlets for “spreading misinformation” and urged responsible journalism on the matter.
Highlighting his party’s commitment to defending Sindh’s interests, Shah said the PPP was prepared to make any sacrifice to protect the province’s rights.
He addressed past allegations that former premier Benazir Bhutto allocated funds for the Kalabagh Dam, saying such claims were unfounded and had been disproven.
Shah stressed that the constitution requires provinces to be consulted on water-related matters.
“They cannot evade this issue; the constitution requires provincial consultation on water matters,” he said, revealing that the Sindh government had repeatedly requested a Council of Common Interests (CCI) meeting to discuss the project, but had yet to receive a response.
According to Shah, the Indus River System Authority (IRSA) approved Punjab’s request for 0.8 million acre-feet (MAF) of water for the Marot Canal project — a decision that has sparked strong opposition from Sindh.
He noted that Punjab justifies its demand by citing historical data from 1976 to 2022, which shows an average of 27 MAF of water flowing downstream to Kotri Barrage annually. While the officially required environmental flow is 8.5 MAF, Shah said the actual requirement should be 10 MAF.
Sindh, however, maintains that at least 20.5 MAF is necessary to prevent seawater intrusion and preserve the Indus Delta ecosystem.
With a current national water shortage of 11 MAF and only 8 MAF reaching the Arabian Sea, Punjab argues that the remaining 7 MAF constitutes surplus water. Shah warned that further diversion could deepen water scarcity in Sindh’s agricultural zones and endanger the delta.
He urged Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to officially scrap the Marot Canal project, noting that both the federal and Sindh governments had already opposed it in the Central Development Working Party. He stressed the need for inter-provincial harmony and warned against actions that could heighten tensions.
