SUKKUR: Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah commenced three-day celebrations of the 204th urs of Hazrat Sachal Sarmast in Daraza Sharif, Khairpur district, by laying a chador on the saint’s grave on Friday.

The celebrations feature; Sughar conference (a gathering of folk poets), Mehfil-i-Sama (Sufi devotional music), a literary conference, a musical gathering of Raga (classical music), and other programs.

Provincial ministers Syed Nasir Hussain Shah, Syed Zulfiqar Ali Shah, Syed Riaz Hussain Shah Shirazi, the shrine’s custodian Abdul Haq Farooqi and others were also present on this occasion.

No canals will be built on Indus: Murad

Talking to journalists outside the shrine, the chief minister said that all people were owners of the Indus River and no one could build anything on the river without the permission of the owner.

“None of the six canals are being built, nor will they ever be built,” he said, adding that Sindh had objections over the canals, hence they would not be built and,” he said.

Still, he said, if anyone wanted to protest, he should do so without causing inconveni­ence to others. “If there is a need for the protest, we will be the first to do so,” he said.

He said that even latest Satellite photos had shown there were no canals being built anywhere.

“There are indeed projects but it is not possible [to work on them] without consultation of other provinces,” he said.

He said that real issues were not visible to anyone in the country. “What is not an issue is being made an issue,” he said.

“So far, 1,178 transplants, with a 90 per cent success rate, have been performed at the Gambat Institute of Medical Sciences (GIMS) at Gambat,” he said.

He said that he condemned terrorist incident in Balochistan.

Published in Dawn, March 15th, 2025