Lahore: People’s Party leaders sharply criticized the federal and Punjab governments over the escalating water crisis, controversial canal projects, and resource management policies during a media interaction at the wedding ceremony of party leader Abid Siddiqui’s son in Mughalpura. 

 General Secretary Syed Hasan Murtaza and former Federal Interior Minister Chaudhry Aitzaz Ahsan raised alarms about the socio-economic and political ramifications of the government’s approach to water distribution and infrastructure.  

 

Syed Hasan Murtaza, the party’s Central Punjab General Secretary warned that constructing new canals would weaken national unity and federal foundations, emphasizing water scarcity as a collective challenge for all provinces. “If resolving the canal issue demands sacrifices from Sindh and Balochistan governments, the People’s Party will accept it. Water is not just Sindh or Punjab’s problem – it is Pakistan’s shared crisis,” he stated. Highlighting Punjab’s acute shortage, he noted the province is already receiving 20% less water than its IRSA allocation, stressing, “This isn’t the first but the fourth crop season where farmers’ hard work is being robbed. Without new reservoirs, where will canal water come from? One of five major reservoirs is empty – how will it be refilled?” He accused the Punjab government of creating a crisis that risks turning fertile lands barren, linking water scarcity to rising rural violence and divorces. “We will not stay silent. This is about food security and survival,” he asserted.  

 

Former Interior Minister Chaudhry Aitzaz Ahsan condemned the federal government’s unilateral decisions, declaring, “No single province, however powerful, can dictate water rights for all four provinces.” Demanding transparency, he challenged authorities to specify which Punjab regions would supply water to the Cholistan Canal and which reservoirs would be drained. “They claim water and land are being handed to a specific institution. When we defend canal rights, we’re branded traitors 

Aitzaz said President Asif Ali Zardari clearly presented his stance on canals in the joint session of the parliament. He dispelled the rumours regarding Presidential endorsement on canals. 

“Citing informal talks as presidential approval is baseless. We stand for federal unity but will never compromise public interests.”