A Hindu minister in Pakistan, Kheal Das Kohistani, was attacked in Sindh by protesters opposing the government’s irrigation canal projects. Kheal Das Kohistani, a state minister for religious affairs in Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s cabinet, was attacked with tomatoes and potatoes in Sindh on Saturday by protesters opposing the federal government’s proposed canal projects, which critics say will reduce the southern province’s share of irrigation water. 

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A group of demonstrators in the Thatta district had targeted Kohistani, who luckily was not harmed. The assault on the minister amid rising tensions over the Green Pakistan Initiative was condemned by both federal and provincial authorities. 

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PM Shehbaz Sharif termed the assault on Kohistani “unacceptable” and assured of “a thorough investigation” into the incident. 

“The attack on public representatives is unacceptable. The persons involved in the incident would be given exemplary punishment,” he said. 

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Federal information minister Atta Tarar also condemned the attack and sought a report from the Sindh Inspector General of Police and the federal interior secretary. 

Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah instructed Hyderabad’s deputy inspector general to arrest the culprits immediately and issued a strict warning to those taking the law into their own hands. 

Kohistani, a member of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), hails from Sindh’s Jamshoro district and won his first election to parliament in 2018. He returned to the National Assembly in 2024 and was appointed as a state minister. 

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The protestors shouted slogans against the PML-N-led federal government, accusing it of threatening Sindh’s agricultural livelihood. They are against the controversial canal projects in Punjab under the Green Pakistan Initiative, supported by the federal government, Punjab authorities, and the military.

The federal government’s proposal includes the construction of six new canals in the Punjab province to irrigate land in the Cholistan region. 

Those opposing the canal project contend that it will cut downriver water flow to Sindh and further worsen irrigation issues in the province. 

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Political tensions flared up after PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari issued a strong warning to the PML-N at a rally in Hyderabad. He said the PPP would withdraw support from the federal government if the canal plan wasn’t shelved. 

Reacting to the threat, PML-N leader Nawaz Sharif directed the federal government to initiate talks with the PPP to resolve the dispute amicably. 
Rana Sanaullah, a senior PML-N leader and adviser to the prime minister, later stated, “Politics should not be played over the issue of water. Matters must be resolved through dialogue.” 
He reiterated that the 1991 Water Accord and 1992 IRSA Act protect interprovincial water rights.