Pakistan Cancels Contentious Canals Project on Indus After India Declares Suspension of Water Treaty

PTI, ISLAMABAD, APRIL 25, 2025 :  The Pakistan government has decided to halt the contentious canals project after India announced the suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) in the wake of the deadly terrorist attack in Pahalgam.

Army Chief General Asim Munir and Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz had inaugurated the ambitious Cholistan project in February to irrigate the desert region in Punjab province. However, it triggered an uproar in Sindh province, where different political parties — including the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), part of the ruling coalition at the Centre with the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) — began protesting against the project.

At the height of the tension between the two parties, India’s announcement to suspend the IWT prompted Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to meet PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, where they agreed to stop the canals project. They also decided that the project will remain suspended until a consensus is reached in the Council of Common Interests (CCI), a high-powered inter-provincial body for resolving disputes between provinces.

According to Dawn, during a press conference with Bilawal, Prime Minister Sharif said both sides considered the country’s situation in detail, especially India’s statements regarding the rivers.

“Today, we decided in the meeting between the PPP and PML-N with mutual agreement that until a decision is reached with consensus in the CCI, no further canal will be constructed. The federal government has decided that there will be no further progress on canals without consensus among provinces,” he said.

The CCI meeting has been scheduled for May 2, during which the PPP and PML-N’s decisions will be formalized. Bilawal thanked the prime minister for hearing the concerns of the PPP and the broader nation, and for taking important decisions in response. He expressed hope that the CCI meeting would endorse the resolution of not constructing new canals without mutual agreement.

“We are not taking any decision today, but only affirming that without a consensus, new canals will not be made. I am looking forward to the CCI meeting,” Bilawal added.

He also strongly condemned India’s announcements regarding the IWT, calling them illegal and “against humanity.”

“We will stand together with you and raise Pakistan’s case not only on the streets but also on the international level and will give a befitting response to India’s decision,” said the former foreign minister.

Earlier, the federal government had proposed the construction of six canals in Punjab to irrigate land in the Cholistan region under the Green Pakistan Initiative — a project supported by the army, federal government, and provincial administration. The plan was first announced in January, with a soft launch held in Cholistan in February.

Meanwhile, Pakistan reiterated on Friday that the Indus Waters Treaty is of critical importance to its water security and economy, and it will take all appropriate steps to preserve the treaty’s sanctity and ensure its smooth implementation.

Tensions between India and Pakistan escalated after the terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam on Tuesday, which killed 26 people — mostly tourists — in the deadliest strike in the Valley since the Pulwama attack in 2019. The Resistance Front (TRF), a proxy of the banned Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), claimed responsibility for the attack.