HYDERABAD: Prominent leaders of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) on Sunday categorically rejected the controversial Cholistan canals project and announced a major public gathering in Hyderabad on April 18.
The announcement was made at a workers convention of the PPP in Tando Jam that was attended by President Asif Ali Zardari’s sister Faryal Talpur, Sindh PPP President Nisar Ahmed Khuhro, Sindh Senior Minister for Information and Transport Sharjeel Inaam Memon and other provincial ministers.
Faryal stated in her speech that the PPP did not accept the canals project. She added that the project would never see the light of day because the PPP workers would not let it happen. She asked all party supporters to attend the PPP rally in Hyderabad.
She was of the view that the canals issue was about the lives of people as it was a matter of water. Using the allegory of Karbala, she warned that the project would turn Sindh into Karbala.
Reacting to the allegations of the opposition, she asked if the opposition thought the PPP was weak. “We have given our lives and will fight until our last breath,” she stated.
Faryal said President Zardari had made it clear in a speech that the canals would not be built. “You're trying to cultivate a desert by destroying a blooming garden — what kind of thinking is that? What kind of politics is this? Building canals on the Indus River is not just Sindh’s issue, it is a national issue,” she maintained.
She said the PPP believed in the federation and it did not want the people in Karachi to be without water or the farmers of Sindh left helpless. “We will never allow it. The PPP will fight till the end. The voice of Sindh’s people must reach Islamabad, and the officials there need to be made aware.”
The convention was held at the Rawal House, the residence of Memon who said the convention had been organised for the preparations for the April 18 public power show in Hyderabad, where PPP chief Bilawal Bhutto Zardari would come to Hyderabad and make it clear to the rulers what the people of Pakistan wanted.
He said the PPP would tell the entire country what the issue with the canals was. “This is a matter of life and death for the people of Sindh. This water is essential for both people and livestock. If you take away this drinking water from us, will you let 70 million people die of thirst?” he asked.
The Sindh information minister stated that PPP had been winning more seats than before in every elections. “Everyone knows that in Sindh, there are only two types of votes: one for PPP and one anti-PPP,” he said, adding that the anti-PPP elements were now staging drama over the canals issue as they were the ones who had earlier held rallies in favour of the Kalabagh Dam.
He said anyone who had read Pakistan’s law knew that the president did not have the authority to approve any project. “These people act deceitfully out of animosity towards Zardari and mislead the public. If anyone has fought for the people of Sindh, it's the PPP,” he remarked.
Bilawal had always comforted the poor during tough times, Memon said, adding that when the floods destroyed thousands of homes in rural areas of the province, the PPP had them rebuilt.
In his speech, Khuhro said the news had been spread that Bilawal was re-elected unopposed as the PPP chairman. “We need a leader like him, free from prejudice and away from conflict. You know the conditions in KPK and Balochistan. There should no longer be disputes between Sindh and Punjab,” the Sindh PPP president stated.
He said Bilawal was to hold rallies to raise awareness about the canals issue as the matter was creating division between the provinces. “Are you trying to divide provinces and break Pakistan over a single canal? The PPP will never accept that. The party has made sacrifices for the country.”
Sindh Irrigation Minister Jam Khan Shoro also addressed the convention. He said his constituency had always been won by the PPP. On April 18, the people not just from the constituencies PS - 61 and PS - 62, but also from other constituencies, would participate in the public meeting, he said.
“I assure Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari that Hyderabad will decide that the canals will not be built,” he said. He added that despite various crises, the people of Hyderabad never abandoned the PPP and would participate in the April 18 protest in historic numbers.
President Zardari had rejected the six canals project during the joint session of Parliament, he said, adding that it wass the PPP that restored the Constitution of the country through the 18th Amendment.