Jalalpur Canal Begins Trial Operation, Stoking Punjab‑Sindh Water Dispute Over 117‑km Project and 1,350 cusecs Discharge.

A trial operation has begun on the Jalalpur Canal, a 117‑km irrigation line that draws 1,350 cusecs from the Rasul barrage on the Jhelum River. Punjab says the canal will use its own share of water, allegedly adjusted internally. Sindh has long objected to the project. Since 2024 its objections were submitted to the Council of Common Interests (CCI), but were repeatedly ignored. Sindh argues the canal requires approximately 0.5 million acre‑feet of additional water each year. The Asian Development Bank financed design and construction for Punjab. Punjab claims it has already distributed all water it received under the 1991 Water Accord. Internal adjustment would require reducing the water share of another canal command area, but project documents do not list any barrages or canals willing to sacrifice water. In September 2014, the Indus River System Authority issued a no‑objection certificate contingent on Punjab using its own water. Sindh was the sole dissenting voice but was outvoted 4‑1. The canal’s design allows about 6.75 cusecs per thousand acres, more than twice the 2.75 cusecs allowed for Sindh’s canal systems. Sindh’s concerns also involve shortfall in early Kharif months; the province has recorded up to 65 % shortages at Kotri barrage. The CCI is a constitutional forum for resolving water‑sharing disputes, but the construction went forward while its summary awaited intervention, deepening mistrust between the provinces. The controversy underscores the fragile balance of water resources in the Indus system.