ISLAMABAD: The Council of Common Interests (CCI) meeting, chaired by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, has decided to withdraw the controversial canals project.
In the meeting, the CCI rejected the ECNEC’s decision to approve the February 7 canal and decided that no new canal would be built in the country until there is complete consensus among all the provinces.
The meeting further decided that the water availability certificate issued by WAPDA to the Punjab government has also been cancelled. After this step, efforts are being made to ensure that all the provinces are provided with their rights equally.
Talking to the media after the meeting, Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Ali Amin Gandapur said that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa will not give its province’s water to any other province. He said that they would not allow any province to give up its rights and would also secure the KP share of the NFC award.
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Ali Amin Gandapur further said that the merged districts would be given their due rights, and it was good news for Sindh that their long-standing demand for water had been recognised. The meeting witnessed significant progress on the sensitive issue of water distribution between the federation and the provinces.
