• Murad says govt doesn’t want any action against protesters for the sake of unity over canals project issue
• Expects Centre to scrap controversial project after PM’s return from Turkiye
• Offers condolence on passing of Pope Francis
KARACHI: As blockade of key roads linking Sindh and Punjab over canals project continued for the fifth consecutive day, Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah on Tuesday urged protesting lawyers and opposition parties to not trouble the public by blocking highways and move their sit-ins to alternative places from main roads.
Talking to the media at Cardinal House during his visit to offer condolences on the passing of Pope Francis, the CM expressed concern over reports and videos showing protesters blocking roads, which resulted in ambulances being stuck and cattle being transported between cities experiencing distress.
“Please, continue your protest…we support it, but do not cause suffering for the public,” he said in response to a question about the blockades. “They [protesters] should also consider the difficulties faced by the people and take care of that.”
The province-wide blockade of the highways across the province for the past five days has led to a great deal of hardship for people and transporters due to continued anti-canal protests.
Besides the lawyers’ sit-in in Khairpur district, protesters belonging to opposition parties occasionally block the National and Indus highways in Jamshoro, Dadu, Shikarpur, Matiari, Larkana and Thatta districts on multiple locations, leading to severe traffic jams with long queues of vehicles.
Commenting on the situation, the CM criticised individuals blocking the M-9 motorway and said that the provincial government did not want to take any action against them to “maintain unity” over the canals project issue. He said that the PPP would have called for strikes if the provincial government had failed to stop the project because the party knew how to protest.
“As work on the canals has been halted and we haven’t let the project be approved at the required forum, why are the roads being blocked and causing trouble for the public,” he asked.
He said that the blockade of the highways and roads was unreasonable. “We have no objection to your protests, but we want to support you and unite on this cause without causing public issues,” he said. suggesting relocating protests on alternative locations.
Vows to prevent canals project with people’s support
The CM assured that the Pakistan Peoples Party, with the support from the people of the province, would prevent the construction of the canal projects.
He claimed that no work on the canal had taken place since July 2024. “I thank the federal government for not progressing with the canal project in terms of its approval in the Ecnec, but I am disheartened that it has not yet been completely scrapped,” he added.
The chief minister said that recently, Rana Sanullah had informed the media that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and PML-N president Nawaz Sharif had instructed him to engage with the PPP. “We welcomed that initiative,” he added.
He noted that the prime minister was flying to Turkiye, and upon his return, he expected an announcement to stop the project.
Mr Shah expressed hope that the PM would consider the legitimate concerns of the people from the lower riparian areas, as the issue has well-known consequences.
Earlier, the CM offered heartfelt condolences on the passing of Pope Francis.
Calling him a “global spiritual leader and an ambassador of humanity”, the CM prayed for the late Pope and recorded his sentiments in the condolence book placed at the venue.
Referring to the Pope’s recent call to end Israeli atrocities in Gaza, Mr Shah described it as a bold voice for justice and peace.
“The world has lost a great human being,” he remarked.
Published in Dawn, April 23rd, 2025
