HYDERABAD/LARKANA/SUKKUR / THATTA: Marking the ‘28th International Day of Action for Rivers 2025’, large groups of people from a cross section of society on Friday held ‘long marches’, sit-ins, demonstrations and other events across Sindh.

Most of the groups had set their destination points at the closest section of Indus bank with in their respective area to assemble there and shower rose petals on the surface of the river in a symbolic gesture of respect to it, being their lifeline.

Major events of the day were witnessed at the Indus banks in Jamshoro, Larkana-Khairpur Bridge and Doolha Darya Bridge (Thatta).

Most of the events were organised by Sindh United Party (SUP), Awami Tehreek (AT) and its women wing Sindhiyani Tehreek (ST), Qaumi Awami Tehreek (QAT), and different factions of several other Sindhi nationalist parties including Jeay Sindh Qaumi Mahaz (JSQM) and Jeay Sindh Mahaz (JSM), as well as PPP-Shaheed Bhutto.

Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) also held a big demonstration, led by its General Secretary Maulana Rashid Mahmood Soomro, after Juma prayers at Jamia Islamia on Dodai Road in Larkana.

In his address Maulana Soomro threatened to hold a march to Karachi, and also issue a fatwa against the six canals on Monday during a similar demonstration in Sukkur if the project was not shelved.

Pakistan Medical Association (PMA) fully participated in the anti-canals rallies in different cities and towns.

At all these gatherings, leaders of the organising parties, groups and civil society organisations expressed their strong reservations over the federal government’s six canals project aimed at irrigating millions of acres of lands in Cholistan and other parts of Punjab. They believed that bulk of Indus water would be syphoned into these canals and this was bound to render Sindh’s lands barren.

Growers, lawyers, doctors, paramedics, labourers and students participated in these gatherings in large numbers.

At Al Manzar Bridge recreational spot downstream Kotri Barrage, the participants of several rallies kept raising slogans against the canals project and federal government’s other ‘anti-Sindh’ policies. They also joined Hindu community members in celebrating their religious festival of Holi, besides performing showering of rose petals on river water, which appeared to be in a meagre quantity at this point of time.

JSQM chief organiser Dr Niaz Kalani and other party leaders, activists and supporters marched up to the bridge raising slogan against the canals project and corporate farming.

Grand Democratic Alliance (GDA) on Friday said that the ‘peaceful and historic province-wide’ protest by the ‘Save Indus River Movement’ against the new canals and duplicity of the ‘Zardari league’ proved to be a referendum against the rulers.

GDA Information Secretary Sardar Abdul Rahim said in a statement that President Asif Ali Zardari, in the name of Green Pakistan Initiative’ had approved these strategic canals -- including Chashma Right Bank Canal, Kachhi Canal, Raini Canal, Cholistan Canal, Thar Canal and Greater Thal Canal -- in a meeting held at the Presidency on July 8, 2024.

He said that the strong resistance and protest from the people of Sindh from Karachi to Kashmore forced the ‘Zardari league’ to get a useless resolution passed by the Sindh Assembly to throw dust in the eyes of people and temporarily cool the public anger.

Sardar Rahim, who is also the Secretary General of Pakistan Muslim League-Functional’s Sindh chapter, said that provincial government had no interest in ensuring rights of people. He said that PPP had been making tall claims in the Sindh Assembly about the canals, but it had not held a single demonstration against the project yet, which proved that it was the biggest beneficiary of this ‘anti-Sindh’ project.

A conglomerate of different parties led by the SUP and supported by the GDA, both running the sustained campaign ‘Save Indus River Movement (SIRM)’ also organised a big protest rally.

Speaking to the participants, SUP leader Roshan Buriro said that the movement launched by Syed Zain Shah had spread across Sindh and now every single child was raising his voice for the Indus.

Rallies by various nationalist entities were taken out in different cities and towns, including those of Hyderabad, Jamshoro, Larkana, Shaheed Benazirabad, Sukkur, Jacobabad, Kandhkot-Kashmore, Shikarpur, Thatta, Badin and Mirpurkhas districts,

In Kotri, AT and ST held a rally from the Karan Khan Shoro area which ended at Al Manzar. It was led by AT President Vasand Thari, Izhar Dawoodpota, Raheel Bhutto, Ms Umra Sammo, Sarmad Rajpar and others.

The leaders criticised Pakistan Peoples Party for “playing a double game” on the canals issue.

Sindh Taraqqi-pasand Party (STP) organised such rallies in Hyderabad, Jamshoro, Badin, Mirpurkhas and several upper Sindh cities and towns.

STP marchers ended their rally at Al Manzar, where the party’s Chairman Hyder Shahani spoke to them. He said people of Sindh would resist the canals project tooth and nail.

QAT leader Ayaz Latif Palijo led an anti-canals rally in Matiari district. He told the participants that a recent Sindh Assembly resolution confirmed that work on these canals in Punjab had already been started. He termed the federal plans a conspiracy against Sindh.

Jeay Sindh Mahaz-Riaz (JSM-R) Chairman Riaz Ali Chandio led a march to Jasmhoro. Speaking to the participants, he said this big march was a referendum against Punjab and PPP. He demanded that the water availability certificate issued by Irsa should be withdrawn immediately and the lands being acquired for corporate farming should be returned.

Sindh’s almost all bar associations, unions of journalist, students of colleges and universities, literary organisations, growers’ bodies and other civil society organisations actively partcipated in the rallies and demonstrations across Sindh.

Published in Dawn, March 15th, 2025