HYDERABAD: The Council of Common Interests’ (CCI) declaration failed to end protests by Sindh’s legal fraternity, which vowed to continue their sit-ins demanding cancellation of the six canals project and corporate farming. Speaking in Kashmore-Kandhkot, Sindh High Court Bar Association President Barrister Sarfaraz Ali Metlo said lawyers would not stop protesting without formal notification of both cancellations.
Outgoing SHCBA Hyderabad President advocate Ayaz Hussain Tunio said their demands remained unchanged and cautioned that delaying notifications would expand the protests. Advocate Sajjad Ahmed Chandio, a member of the lawyers’ negotiation committee, said most lawyers had rejected the CCI decision and would deliberate further at a late-night meeting.
Advocate Syed Jaffar Shah, addressing protesters in Khairpur, stated that even if the canal project was cancelled immediately, protests would continue until the lawyers’ committee announced an official end. He urged protesters not to leave without the committee’s decision.
Nationalist leaders and activists also expressed dissatisfaction, including Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto Jr, who said the emergency CCI meeting failed to meet public demands for a permanent end to the canals project and corporate farming. Bhutto insisted the government was ignoring popular sentiment.
Karachi Bar Association President Amir Nawaz Warraich congratulated protesters but said the 14-member lawyers’ committee would decide the next steps. In Babarloi, protesters celebrated by dancing to nationalist songs and lighting fireworks outside the camp.
