The twelve-day-long Babarloi Dharna, held from April 18 to 29, 2025, at the Babarloi Bypass near Sukkur in District Khairpur, was not just a protest. It became a national issue that exposed deep-rooted tensions over water distribution and governance in Pakistan. Led by the All-Sindh Lawyers Action Committee and supported by various nationalist and civil society groups, the protest aimed to stop the construction of six new canals under the Green Pakistan Initiative, fearing that Sindh would be deprived of its fair share of water from the Indus River.
The World Bank’s 2023 report reveals the harsh truth that Pakistan’s canal system excessively benefits wealthy landowners in Punjab. Water-intensive crops like sugarcane and rice consume 53% of the Indus Basin’s water while contributing just 5% to national GDP. Local research by the Pakistan Council of Research in Water Resources (PCRWR) confirms this imbalance, showing how 62% of canal water flows to Punjab’s politically connected agricultural regions, leaving downstream communities dried.
In Sindh, the human cost is overwhelming. In 2021, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) documented that 75% of the province’s tail-end districts face persistent water shortages. WWF-Pakistan’s findings show a horrendous picture: Since 2000, the Indus Delta has lost 1.2 million acres of mangrove forests, while government fisheries data shows 138,000 coastal families have lost their livelihoods because of rising salinity. Karachi’s water board recently reported that 60% of the city’s water crisis stems from uncontrolled agricultural diversions upstream.
The Finance Ministry documents show the government has assigned Rs. 80 billion for new water projects under the Green Pakistan Initiative. While contractors benefit from these projects, the Planning Commission’s 2023 assessment warns that the country is already losing Rs. 500 billion annually due to water mismanagement. The Law and Justice Commission also notes that such projects have caused 78% of Pakistan’s water-related legal cases, fuelling inter-provincial tensions. However, the digging of new canals will not stop.
The International Water Management Institute (IWMI) estimates that adopting modern irrigation methods could save enough water to eliminate the need for six new canals from the Indus. PCRWR studies show that lining existing canals could recover 30% of lost water. Nevertheless, as the saying goes in irrigation departments, “Concrete canals are visible progress, whereas the water preservation is invisible wisdom.”
The question is not whether Pakistan needs water infrastructure; it’s whether the country can afford the human and economic costs of repeating past mistakes. A new canal might displace thousands while lining ten kilometers of existing channels, which could sustain entire villages. The data is clear, and the solutions exist, but the political will is missing.
While the protest rightly highlighted serious concerns over water rights and provincial equity, its method completely blocked the Indus Highway, one of Pakistan’s busiest and most essential trade routes, resulting in severe economic disruption. The prolonged sit-in halted business activities, paralyzed national supply chains, and affected daily life across various provinces, raising serious questions about the consequences of such protest tactics.
According to the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI), over 12,000 vehicles, including 1,000 commercial trucks and 2,500 oil tankers, were trapped. Export shipments were interrupted, fuel supplies choked, and perishable goods decayed. The Karachi Chamber of Commerce & Industry (KCCI) described the situation as a “supply chain paralysis.” The Oil Companies Advisory Council (OCAC) reported around 800 fuel tankers were trapped, posing safety risks and causing shortages. Pakistan Press International (PPI) estimated the total economic loss to be over Rs. 500 billion.
On the other hand, if the government genuinely aims to boost agricultural productivity, particularly in Punjab and Sindh, there are more effective alternatives than shaping out new canals from the already stressed Indus River. PCRWR estimates the traditional irrigation system in Pakistan has an efficiency of only 35–40%, meaning up to 65% of water is lost through evaporation, seepage, and runoff. Moreover, due to outdated flood irrigation, Pakistan loses over 50 MAF of water annually. Shifting to modern irrigation methods like drip or sprinkler systems could save 20–30 MAF annually, enough to irrigate millions of additional acres.
Furthermore, lining just 20% of Pakistan’s major canals could significantly reduce seepage losses and improve access to water for often neglected tail-end users. Additionally, shifting from water-thirsty crops like sugarcane and rice to less water-intensive alternatives could save billions of cubic meters of water annually. These measures are not only cost-effective but also reduce environmental risks and political tensions.
While the six proposed canals might create more farmland in the short term, they could cause huge trouble. They might increase tensions between provinces, harm the environment in southern Sindh, particularly the fragile Indus Delta, and may not last long because climate change is reducing river water. Instead of building new canals, we would get better results by improving the canals we already have and making sure water is shared fairly. This would especially help farmers in remote areas of Sindh who are constantly struggling with water shortages.
Could the construction of six new canals yield agricultural or economic benefits worth Rs. 500 billion, the estimated loss caused by the 12-day blockade of Pakistan’s National Highway? Rationally, the answer is no. Blocking trade routes, halting supply chains, and disrupting the flow of fuel and goods created a nationwide ripple effect. This economic loss hit traders, exporters, farmers, daily wage earners, and an already struggling national economy. While the protest succeeded in drawing attention to the water issue, the economic damage cost far more than what was gained.
In conclusion, the Babarloi Dharna reflected more than a protest, it was a cry for justice, equity, and inclusion in national planning. Pakistan does not need more canals, it needs smarter water management, inter-provincial trust and investment in long-term solutions that do not come at the cost of economic stability or national unity.
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The views and opinions expressed in this article/paper are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect the editorial position of Paradigm Shift.
The writer is an M.Phil. scholar from National Institute of Pakistan Studies (NIPS), Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad, and currently serves as a Subject Specialist based in Khairpur, Sindh.