Two were shot dead on Tuesday as protests intensified in Pakistan’s Sindh province against the controversial army-backed canal project on the Indus River System. According to an India Today report, the protestors blaming the domination of Punjab for the water issue attacked the house of a minister from the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP).
Sindh and Punjab are among the four provinces of Pakistan. According to the report, the inhabitants of Sindh have held Punjab responsible for putting it lower on the priority list.
The Sindh-based PPP is part of the ruling coalition of Shahbaz Sharif and holds power in Sindh. According to India Today, the Chairperson of JSMM, Shafi Burst, accused the military establishment of Pakistan of using an “immature, power-hungry, and unserious” Bilawal to advance its own geopolitical objectives and suppress the canal protests.
According to The Tribune, quoting videos, the armed guards were recorded in several videos firing gunshots in the air to disperse the charged mob. The black fumes darkened the skies over the house of Minister Ziaul Hassan Lanjar.
The report also mentions that Moro town was immediately shut as violence erupted in the town, with the protesters burning at least three cargo trailers on the National Highway, forcing the local authorities to call in police force from the other districts so that law and order could be maintained.
According to Tribune, the protest was called by a nationalist organisation in Moro against the Indus canals, corporate farming and several other issues. As the protestors tried to stage a sit-in, the police intervened and tried to forcefully break up the demonstrators, leading to conflict.
