Awami Tehreek Invites Intellectuals and political leaders to Islamabad Conference Against Corporate Farming and New Canals
Chehra WebDesk
ISLAMABAD (P-R): The Awami Tehreek has invited various political and social leaders to attend a conference in Islamabad on January 18 to oppose corporate farming and the construction of six new canals on the River Indus.
Central leader of Awami Tehreek, Abdul Qadir Ranto, and Central President of Sindhi Shagrid Tahreek, Advocate Naveed Abbas Kalhoro, have personally visited and contacted several political leaders and social activists by phone to extend invitations. Among the invitees are Dr. Pervez Hoodbhoy, National Party's Central General Secretary Senator Jan Muhammad Buledi, Fazlullah Qureshi, senior journalist Asma Shirazi, Dr. Asim Sajjad Akhtar, Mushtaq Gadehi, Qurban Baloch, and Abdul Razzaq Khatti.
Abdul Qadir Ranto stated that corporate farming projects violate human rights and that the construction of six new canals as part of these projects breaches both national and international laws. He stated that these initiatives would devastate the Indus River and indus delta, violating the Ramsar Convention.
Ranto highlighted the historical deprivation of Sindh's rightful share of water, alleging that Punjab has exploited Sindh’s water resources both before and after Pakistan's creation. From 1955 to 1966, Kotri berrage down stream recieves an average of 79.9 million acre-feet of water, which has now dwindled to nearly zero, excluding floodwater. He noted that in 2008, kotri berrage received only 5 million acre-feet of water, whereas the 1991 Water Accord mandates a minimum of 10 million acre-feet downstream of the Kotri Barrage.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) recommends a minimum of 25 million acre-feet of water downstream to sustain the delta. However, Ranto accused Punjab's rulers of treating Sindh as a "conquered territory" and continuing to exploit its water resources.
Ranto also criticized Federal Minister Ahsan Iqbal for supporting these canal projects, which he described as a form of "genocide" against the Sindhi people. Ranto compared Ahsan Iqbal's statements, in which he claimed that the new canals water would be taken from Punjab's share, to Hitler's fascist ideology. Ranto demanded that Ahsan Iqbal answer where the delta's water has gone and why Punjab continues to monopolize Sindh's water. He emphasized that even the delta has not been provided the minimum 10 million acre-feet of water mandated by the 1991 Water Accord.
He stressed that the 1991 Water Accord is already seen as one-sided and rejected by the people of Sindh. Despite this, Punjab’s leadership remains unwilling to implement even this agreement, depriving Sindh of its rightful share of water.
According to a World Bank report, the deprivation of water for the delta causes annual losses exceeding 2 billion dollars to the national economy.
Ranto also criticized the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) for supporting the federal government in approving the construction of six new canals. He urged the PPP to pass a resolution in the Senate and National Assembly opposing these canals if it truly seeks to safeguard Sindh's water rights.
