PM calls CCI meeting on Sindh govt’s request over canals issue

KARACHI: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif convened a meeting of the Council of Common Interest (CCI) on Monday (today) on the request of the Sindh Government, said the Provincial Minister of Information, Sindh, Sharjeel Memon.

The CCI meeting was set to scheduled for 2 May 2025, following the meeting between the Prime Minister and Chairman Pakistan People Party (PPP) Bilawal Bhutto Zardari in the previous week. However, the meeting will take place in Islamabad today.

The agenda for the session is the controversial canal projects, and a decision is likely to be made in the meeting, said the minister.

Chief  Minister Sindh Syed Murad Ali Shah will put up the case of the people of Sindh regarding the canal projects in view of the meeting between Prime Minister Sharif and Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, Sharjeel added.

Meanwhile, The Protest led by the lawyers’ leaders has refused to call off, and the protest continued in different parts of the province of Sindh despite the announcement by the federal Government that work on the canals project has been stopped.

Moreover, the federal Government has decided not to build controversial canal projects until a consensus is made by all provinces, said Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, while talking to the media on Thursday.

The controversial canal projects will be put on the table for consideration before the Council of Common Interests (CCI), with a meeting scheduled for May 2, which has now been rescheduled for Today.

CCI AGENDA:

The first item on the agenda is the issue of a water availability certificate, according to media reports.

The CCI will address the granting of a water availability certificate for the Cholistan Canal via the Indus River’s Link Canal. The Sindh government brought the problem of water availability certifications for Cholistan canals to the CCI.

Sindh has petitioned the CCI to express its opposition to the development of the Greater Thal Canal Phase II and the Choubara Branch Canal. It will present arguments to halt work on the Greater Thal Canal.