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CWA # 1659, 21 April 2025
PR Explainer
Cholistan Water Canal Project: Why does Punjab want it, and why is Sindh opposing?

  Nuha Aamina

What is the Cholistan Water Canal project?
The Cholistan Canal project is a flood feeder effort launched by the Punjab government in Cholistan desert. It was inaugurated under the Green Pakistan Initiative to boost agricultural productivity by Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif and the Chief of Army Staff Gen Asim Munir on 15 February. For Punjab, the canal will meet the region’s irrigation needs. This has not been received well by farmers and locals of Sindh as it threatens a drastic reduction in discharge amid an acute water shortage.

Why is Sindh opposing the Cholistan project?
Sindh has a booming population and has been struggling with heightened water scarcity. Primarily being an agro-based province, people’s livelihoods depend on the availability of water. Recent IRSA reports suggest a 50 per cent shortage in irrigation water ahead of the Kharif season. The Sindh nationalist political groups have demonstrated against the PPP and the PML-N. They claimed the PPP colluded with the PML to rob them of their share of water and covertly facilitated the project. Its perceived complicity and soft stance remain dangerous to Sindh’s rights. 

The Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) have threatened to withdraw from the coalition if the government did not give into its demands to withdraw the canal’s construction. This is not the first time the PPP has been at loggerheads with the PML-N government. 

On 13 March, the Sindh provincial assembly unanimously passed a resolution against the canal’s construction. It cited the 1991 Water Accord that delineates equitable distribution of water resources among provinces and proscribes the construction of a new irrigation canal. President Asif Ali Zardari urged the government to “abandon” its plans of diverting canals from the Indus in his address at the joint session of the Parliament.

What has been Punjab’s response to Sindh’s criticism?
The PML-N-led Punjab government has rejected the potential risks of turning Sindh’s land barren in the face of heightened water scarcity upon the canal’s construction. In a letter addressed to the Indus River System Authority (IRSA), the Punjab Irrigation Department stated that it received less than its mandated water share. Citing IRSA data it insisted that Sindh has received “additional water” stored in the Tarbela Dam, putting pressure on the Mangla reservoir that supplies water to Punjab. It also accused Sindh of “significant underreporting of” data on water discharge. 

How does Pakistan address differences over water sharing?
Water sharing in Pakistan is determined by the 1991 Water Apportionment Accord signed by all provinces. Since 1947, Punjab and Sindh have disputed over water-sharing from Jhelum and Chenab. This led to the introduction of the 1991 accord to settle water distribution disputes. But according to Water expert Feisal Naqvi, Punjab believes “the 1991 water accord upholds the historic share of each province, whereas the new distribution percentage depends only on the extra water. However, Sindh interprets otherwise, insisting that the new percentage is based on the entire quantity of water.” The matter has been highly contested since the Indus River System Authority approved the project, simultaneously violating the accord. It was ratified by the Council of Common Interests (CII), solely constituted to monitor water allocation between the provinces. However, in recent times, an opinion (“Water, power and politics”) in The News claims that it has become a “product of the government.” The author also alleges that the central government may have a role in sidling the CII and taking over its “powers and functions.” Hence, constitutional provisions like the 18th Amendment may have granted greater autonomy to provinces but between the center and its federating units remain. An editorial in Dawn titled “Resource talk” discusses the issue as the government’s development priorities intervene in provincial autonomy. This phenomenon is visible in Sindh and Balochistan. The people of Balochistan have grown disillusioned and disenfranchised with the state leading to a rise in separatist movements. The ongoing protests against the arrest of Baloch Yakhjeti activists is telling of it. Besides, previous projects like the Great Thar Canal, Chaubara Branch canal, Thar canal, Rainee Canal Phase-II, and Kachhi canal have been questioned by Sindh at the Council of Common Interests.

What next? 
The ongoing issue has brought the debate on provincial resources to the limelight. Disputes emerging from initiatives like the Cholistan Canals project arise from loopholes in the legislative and governance framework. It calls for a learned policy decision by taking variables like the impact of climate change into consideration. Moreover, the growing opposition between the Pakistan Muslim League (N) and the Pakistan People’s Party is not a mere inter-coalition dispute as it has in previous feuds. This current matter may snowball and lead to political repercussions and deepen the government’s legitimacy crisis. The Council of Common Interests meeting may be convened to allay the situation but not yield results in favor of Sindh as the Punjab government has historically dominated the state machinery. 

References
Mohammad Hussain Khan, “Cholistan project inaugurated but CCI remains indifferent to Sindh’s objections,” Dawn, 3 March 2025
Asim Yasin & Mumtaz Alvi, “Zardari cautions govt against canals project,” The News International, 11 March 2025
“Resource talk,” The News International, 16 April 2025
Amjad Mahmood & Mohammad Hussain Khan, “Punjab grumbles as Sindh stands firm on new canals,” Dawn, 15 April 2025
Syed Mohibullah Shah, “Water, power and politics,” The News International, 13 March 2025

About the author
Nuha Aamina is a Research Assistant at NIAS.

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