Pakistan: Lawyers protesting Indus River canal project warn of blocking railway tracks

Islamabad, April 20 (IANS) The lawyers' association in Pakistan has warned that in the next phase of their protest against the canal project on the Indus River, scheduled on April 21, they will begin blocking the railway tracks to disrupt the movement of trains between Sindh and Punjab.

The National Highway in Sindh at two different locations has already been blocked as the protestors staged a sit-in demonstration in the Babarloi town of Khairpur district, local media reported.

Speaking at the protest camp on Saturday, the President of the Karachi Bar Association, Amir Warraich, who is leading the sit-in, gave the federal government two days to revoke the canal project.

He slammed the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and stated that the government acts like a sub-nationalist entity whose primary purpose is to pursue the interests of Punjab.

He accused the federal government of remaining indifferent to the protest in Sindh against the canal project from across all sections, including doctors, engineers, teachers, writers, poets, lawyers, journalists, students, women, and children.

The outgoing President of Sindh High Court Bar Association, Ayaz Tunio, threatened that the protestors would not return home until the government issues a notification to cancel the project, Pakistan's leading daily, The Express Tribune, reported.

Meanwhile, the ruling coalition allies of the Pakistan government -- the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan People's Party (PPP) -- again locked horns over the construction of the six canals on the Indus River.

Speaking to Geo News, PML-N leader Rana Sanaullah on Saturday said that the PPP's opposition to the canals was just propaganda and that its reason for pursuing the issue was for political gain.

"PPP is part of the government and must speak with full responsibility; the water issue is too sensitive to be used for political point-scoring," said the PML-N leader Sanaullah.

His statement came a day after PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari threatened to exit the government if the controversial canal project on the Indus River is not shelved.

Addressing a large public gathering at the Hatri Bypass Ground in Pakistan's Hyderabad late Friday night, Bhutto said that his party would not go along with the federal government if it didn't withdraw the controversial projects, even after acknowledging the PPP's objections.

He complained that the government is neither listening to its coalition partner nor taking back the decision to build new canals.

"I thought Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif would stay away from the project after seeing such a reaction because he understands that without PPP support, he can't run assembly sessions or pass the budget. However, it seems he is not ready to shelve the project. If that is the case, then we are not ready to give up either," Bilawal Bhutto added.

--IANS

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