No canal without unity: Govt moves toward water policy consensus

Islamabad: Federal government has decided that no new canals will be built without mutual understanding from CCI. It has been decided government will not move further until consensus is reached among all provinces.

It is engaging all provincial governments to chart out a long-term consensus roadmap for development of agriculture policy & water management infrastructure across Pakistan.

Water rights of all provinces are enshrined in the Water Apportionment Accord-1991 and Water Policy-2018; with the consensus of all stakeholders.

To allay the concerns of all provinces and to ensure Pakistan’s food and ecological security, a committee is being formed with representation from the federation and all provinces.

The committee will propose solutions to Pakistan’s long term agriculture needs and water use of all provinces in line with the two consensus documents.

Water is one of the most precious commodities and the makers of the Constitution recognized this, mandating all water disputes to be resolved amicably through consensus and concerns of any province shall be addressed through due diligence amongst all stakeholders.

A meeting of the Council of Common Interests shall be convened on 2nd May 2025, wherein, the PPP and PML-N representatives shall endorse above mentioned federal government policy and any such proposals will be sent back to relevant agency in order to develop consensus.