Awami Tehreek Protesters Reject IRSA Amendments, Green Pakistan Initiative, and Corporate Farming
Tando Jan Mohammad, Sindh
A large rally was organized by Awami Tehreek in Tando Jan Mohammad town of Mirpurkhas district on Sunday March 16 against six new canals, corporate farming, amendments to the IRSA Act, and the controversial “Green Pakistan Initiative.”
Women, children, farmers, students, and local residents participated in a large number, holding protest placards. The rally was led by Awami Tehreek’s Central Senior Vice President Noor Ahmad Katiar, Central Information Secretary Lal Jarwar, Mukhtiar Khaskheli, Ayaz Khoso, Amir Bux Jarwar, Advocate Ghaffar Narejo, Josh Jarwar, Razzaq Baloch, Azmat Kaloi, Zubeida Kaloi, and other leaders.
Addressing the rally, the leaders stated, “Canals on the Indus River are an attack on Sindh’s existence. The people of Sindh will never tolerate the robbery of their river.” They accused Punjab’s rulers of constructing dozens of canals and dams without Sindh’s consent, leading to severe devastation.
Sindh is facing an acute water crisis, with the Indus Delta once the world’s sixth-largest delta now 90% destroyed. The speakers highlighted historical exploitation, including General Ayub Khan’s sale of three rivers to India, which contributed to the irrigation of Rajasthan’s desert. They alleged that the current government is now “selling” the Indus River to corporate farming companies to develop Punjab’s Cholistan Desert, calling it a “genocidal conspiracy against 70 million Sindhis.”
The leaders strongly condemned corporate farming, asserting that 4.8 million acres of land countrywide, including in Sindh, are being sold to foreign companies. They labeled this policy as an “anti-state conspiracy.”
The Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC) was described as “more dangerous than the One Unit scheme,” they said that the federal government is imposing a “hybrid dictatorship” under the guise of democracy.
They further added that President Asif Ali Zardari is auctioning the Indus River’ by approving six new canals under the Green Pakistan Initiative during a July 8, 2025, meeting, effectively turning the Presidential House into a marketplace for selling Sindh’s resources.
The current coalition government was compared to dictators like Ayub Khan, Zia-ul-Haq, and Musharraf, and was accused of undermining Quaid-e-Azam’s vision of a secular, democratic Pakistan and provincial autonomy.
They demanded immediate cancellation of corporate farming projects, SIFC, six new canals, and the Board of Investment Amendment Act 2023. Restoration of Sindh’s rightful share of water and the closure of Punjab’s “illegal” canals, including the TP Link Canal and CJ Link Canal. Governance based on the 1940 Lahore Resolution and Quaid-e-Azam’s ideology of provincial autonomy.
Read: Indus River: Lifeline of Sindh
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