Protests led by the Sindh Action Committee have entered their third weekend across Sindh, in a growing dispute over water, land and proposed canal projects along the Indus River.
Demonstrators are fighting federal and military-backed water diversions upstream and fear they could threaten Sindh’s farmers and the historic Indus delta.
The protests have brought together a broad coalition of political and social groups. Sindhi nationalists, reformists, separatist groups, communists, farmer associations and provincial bar councils are amongst them.
Political organisations such as the Sindh United Party, Qaumi Awami Tehreek, various Jeay Sindh factions and the Awami Jamhoori Party are among the groups associated with the broader movement.
At the heart of the dispute are canal and water-diversion projects linked to the Indus River system. The protesters fear that diverting more water upstream can lead to less water reaching Sindh through water shortages especially if there is water scarcity.
The farmers who depend on the river for irrigation say the consequences could be painful for farming communities.
A bigger worry, of course, is the fate of the Indus River delta, which is an ecologically vital ecosystem as fresh water flows from the river are crucial for agriculture, fisheries and coastal communities.
Lower freshwater flows may also further damage the delta and compound existing environmental stressors, the activists said.
Another key issue is the 1991 Water Accord, an agreement that established a mechanism for sharing the Indus River’s water among Pakistan’s provinces.
🚨🇵🇰 EXCLUSIVE VIDEO: Protests organized by the Sindh Action Committee have entered a third weekend across Sindh, targeting federal and military-backed canal projects along the Indus River.
— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) August 23, 2026
The coalition brings together a wide network of Sindhi nationalists, reformists,… pic.twitter.com/1znhBz5rxD
Sindh-based activists say new diversions would undermine the principles of the accord and reduce the province’s share of water.
Alongside water problems, this is a movement that has broadened to include resistance to proposed new administrative divisions in Sindh.
In the province’s political structure, land management and demographic balance, such changes were feared by protesters.
The demonstrations have spread across major transport routes, with sit-ins and marches apparently affecting highway corridors and railway lines. Police have responded by increasing arrests as authorities try to control the protests and reopen important transportation links.
For the protesters the movement is more than just a dispute over individual canal projects. It is a larger movement for provincial rights, control over natural resources and Sindh’s political future.
Nationalist groups have held for years that decisions on the province’s water, land and resources need to be made in consultation with local people.
The dispute also illustrates Pakistan’s long-standing disputes over the distribution of Indus River water. Because the river system supports agriculture and millions of people throughout the country, new canals and diversions can quickly become politically sensitive.
As the Sindh Action Committee's protests go on for another weekend, pressure will continue on the federal government to act on Sindhi political and civil society groups’ concerns. The situation could get more heated when demonstrations and arrests and disruptions continue.
The latest protests underline the importance of the Indus River not only as a source of water, but also as a central political and economic issue for Sindh.
The argument on canals, the 1991 Water Accord and provincial rights is now a major flashpoint in Pakistan's federal politics.
