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WorldPosted at: Apr 26 2025 8:50PM


Anti-canal protests continue in Sindh, as sit-ins disrupt transportation

Karachi, Apr 26 (UNI) Protests over the controversial canal project in Sindh is seeing no end, as protesters have staged multiple sit-ins across the province, bringing all transportation to a halt. This comes despite the Pakistan government halting the project until a consensus is reached.
The sit-ins carried out en-masse by protesters have disrupted traffic across several districts in the province, once again stalling transportation significantly, stranding thousands of trucks and effectively disrupting the province’s whole supply chain.
According to Dawn, Tariq Gujjar, president of the Transport Goods Association (TGA), said more than 10,000 to 15,000 trawlers, containers, trucks and oil tankers remain stuck in the Sukkur-Larkana division and around Bahawalpur due to ongoing road blockades.
“Drivers have reported that goods movement, especially from the Sukkur-Larkana region to the Bahawalpur area, is still paralysed,” he said.
He added that lawyers are still not ready to call off their protests, and are reportedly waiting for the notification on May 2 making the rollback of canal projects official.
The trucks have been carrying food items, sacrificial animals, fertilisers, machinery, medicines, and other critical assets for import and export.
While there has been headway between the PPP (Pakistan Peoples Party) and the ruling PML-N (Pakistan Muslim League – Nawaz) over halting the project until a mutual consensus was reached via mechanisms of the Council of Common Interests, the protesters have not been satisfied in the least.
In Khairpur, the sit-in by lawyers entered its ninth day at the Babarlou Bypass on the National Highway. In Ghotki, two sit-ins continue — one by nationalist groups at the Mangrio Pump site near Daharki, and another by lawyers at the Sindh-Punjab border near Kamo Shaheed, The News International reported.
Both groups have vowed to maintain their protests until a notification confirming the project’s cancellation is issued — despite Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's assurance that no canal would be built sans consensus.
The ongoing demonstrations, joined by members of the civil society, have led to the complete suspension of goods transport between Sindh and Punjab.
The Sindh Bar Council also declared a province-wide strike, causing widespread disruption in legal proceedings. Courts in Hyderabad, Larkana, Nawabshah, Jacobabad, and other cities were boycotted, with City Court remaining locked even on Friday. Hundreds of cases were adjourned without hearing, leaving litigants distressed.
The transport blockade has had serious repercussions beyond Sindh. In Faisalabad, over 1,000 containers belonging to the textile sector — loaded with export and import goods — remain stranded due to road closures in Sindh. This has caused a critical shortage of raw materials, disrupting factory production.
According to Faisalabad Chamber of Commerce officials, two export vessels have already been missed, impacting exports that were scheduled two weeks ago.
Attempting to call off the protests, Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah urged demonstrators to open blocked highways and allow goods movement to resume.
“Peaceful protests are acceptable, but public disruptions are not,” he said, as per Dawn.
The blockade has alarmed industry leaders who say the economy is already bearing the brunt of the prolonged unrest.
Jawed Bilwani, president of the Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry, estimated cumulative losses of over PKR 500 billion ($1.8 billion) in export orders and local production over the past 10 to 12 days. This includes four days of transport delays due to a separate strike by truckers protesting new fitness certificate regulations.

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