Sindh lawyers call off Babarloi sit-in

SUKKUR: The roads connecting Sindh to Punjab have been opened as lawyers called off their protest against canals on the Indus River project, ARY News reported.

According to sources, the Babarloi protest has been called off following an agreement between the Sindh government and lawyers.

The provincial government agreed for the formation of a committee to address the lawyers’ concerns regarding the corporate farming.

Heavy traffic has been resumed after 12 days following the end of the protest.

President Pakistan Goods Transport Alliance Malik Shahzad Awan expressed gratitude to Sindh government for ‘fulfilling’ its promise. He said that hopefully, the Sindh and federal governments will compensate the losses of the transporters.

The Sindh Lawyers’ Action Committee had earlier announced the end of all sit-ins except the one at Babarloi Bypass against the contentious canals project after the CCI decision regarding canals on Indus River.

Chairman Sindh High Court Bar Association and committee member Barrister Sarfaraz Metlo welcomed the decision taken by the Council of Common Interests (CCI), expressing gratitude to all allied organizations for their support.

Earlier, the Council of Common Interest (CCI) approved halting the contentious canals project on Indus River until consensus among all federating units.

“The CCI endorses the policy of the federal government as given below: Federal government has decided that no new canals will be built without mutual understanding from CCI. It has been decided that the federal government will not move further until mutual understanding is evolved among the provinces,” a press statement issued by Prime Minister’s Office read.

In order to address the concerns of all provinces and guarantee the nation’s food and ecological security, the CCI also supported the government’s decision to form a committee with representation from the federation and all provinces and to work with all provincial governments to develop a long-term consensus roadmap for the development of agriculture policy and water management infrastructure throughout Pakistan.