Farmers Continue Sit-in at Sukkur Barrage, Demand Release of Balochistan’s Share of Water

Gandakha: A protest sit-in by farmers demanding the release of Balochistan’s share of water from the Kirthar Canal entered its second day at Sukkur Barrage, with participants warning they would continue their demonstration until their demands are met.

The protest was organized by the Hari Abadgar Ittehad Sindh-Balochistan, a joint farmers’ alliance representing agricultural communities from both provinces. Thousands of farmers, landowners, tribal elders, and social activists from various districts of Sindh and Balochistan participated in the demonstration, calling for what they described as the fair distribution of water.

Speaking to the media, protest leaders, including Mir Hassan Khan Shehliani, Mir Khalid Khan Jamali, Mohsin Qazi, Mir Khan Jamali, Haji Ghulam Mustafa Rind, and Haji Soba Khan Rind, said the continued shortage of water in the Kirthar Canal had triggered a severe agricultural crisis in the tail-end areas of Balochistan.

They claimed that thousands of acres of standing crops were drying up due to the lack of irrigation water, leaving farmers in financial distress and creating water shortages for livestock.

The protesters demanded that the federal government, the governments of Sindh and Balochistan, the Indus River System Authority (IRSA), and irrigation authorities immediately restore Balochistan’s constitutional and legally allocated share of water.

The organizers warned that if their demands were not addressed, they would expand their protest movement and intensify the sit-in. Their claims regarding water allocation and shortages reflect the position of the protesting farmers. No official response from the relevant authorities was immediately available.