Court order gives PPP, PML-N room to stall controversial canal project

A Pakistani court has issued a stay order against a key government document that underpins the controversial Cholistan Canal project, effectively halting progress and raising the possibility of long delays.

The Sindh High Court on Monday suspended the Water Availability Certificate issued by the Indus River System Authority (IRSA), which was required for the project to move forward. The court also froze all activities linked to the canal’s approval and implementation.

Legal experts say this could benefit the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and the federal government by allowing them to delay a final decision on the project.

The project has sparked political and legal controversy, particularly in Sindh, which argues that the canal would unfairly divert water from lower riparian provinces.

The Sindh government had called for a meeting of the Council of Common Interests (CCI) based on the now-suspended certificate. Experts warn the court’s ruling could stall that process as well.

To understand the implications of the court’s order, Nuktaspoke with PPP Senator and petitioner’s lawyer Barrister Zamir Ahmed Ghumro.

He said IRSA, the federal body responsible for water distribution under a 1991 agreement, has five members—one from each province and one representing the federal government.

“In 2000, the federal government decided that its nominee to IRSA would be from Sindh to protect the province’s rights as a lower riparian,” Ghumro said. “That continued until 2014. But since then, the federation has been nominating someone from another province.”

Ghumro challenged this in court, and 2017, the Sindh High Court ruled that both the provincial and federal members in IRSA should be from Sindh. The federal government’s appeal to the Supreme Court failed, but it continued to ignore the ruling.

Ghumro now argues that IRSA’s current composition is illegal, making its decisions—such as the Water Availability Certificate issued on Jan. 25—invalid.

As a result, the Sindh High Court has ordered all actions based on that certificate to stop, including any approvals by ECNEC, the federal economic coordination body.

When asked if this stay order affects the CCI meeting sought by the Sindh government, Ghumro said it does not.

“My petition is a public interest case under a writ of quo warranto. The stay has no direct link to the CCI meeting,” he said, adding that under Article 155 of the Constitution, provinces have the right to call for a CCI meeting.

But he also claimed the federal government is intentionally delaying the meeting to avoid a possible defeat in Parliament.

“If the project is approved in the CCI by majority vote, it may move to a joint session of Parliament,” Ghumro said. “That could be a major risk for the PML-N-led government.”

Other legal experts believe the stay order could now serve as a reason for the federal government to avoid holding the CCI meeting at all.

Meanwhile, sources told Nukta that the PPP also wants to postpone the issue. Sindh Irrigation Minister Jam Khan Shoro confirmed this, saying that PPP had blocked both the CCI and ECNEC meetings on the Cholistan Canal.

“We told the federal officials not to proceed,” Shoro said. “If they do, PPP will strongly oppose the project. That’s how the implementation has been stalled.”

Senior lawyer of the Sindh Bar Council, Advocate Sajjad Chandio, told Nukta that the Constitution of Pakistan provides only one forum—the Council of Common Interests (CCI)—to resolve water and other disputes between provinces.

He noted that the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) provincial government brought the Cholistan Canal issue to the CCI under public pressure and even sent a formal letter to the federal government.

“But it seems they are not truly interested in raising the matter in the CCI,” he said. “Otherwise, what was the need to take it to court?”

He added that the court’s stay order will certainly delay the issue—“and that’s exactly what our rulers want”.

Sources suggest that neither the federal government nor the PPP wants to take a final position on the project right now, fearing political fallout.

For now, the Cholistan Canal remains on hold, with no resolution in sight.