Islamabad, April 22 (NationPress) The lawyers' association in Pakistan has declared an indefinite court boycott, continuing their sit-in protest against the federal government’s canal project on the Indus River.

Last week, the office bearers of the Sindh High Court Bar Association (SHCBA) and Karachi Bar Association (KBA) led a sit-in on the National Highway in Babarloi, located in the Khairpur district, and announced this decision on Monday, as reported by local media.

In a media address, KBA’s President Advocate Amir Nawaz Warraich stated that representatives from all bar associations in Sindh have resolved to expand their sit-in protest by boycotting the courts.

They further threatened to disrupt railway services if the federal government does not cancel the canal project within 72 hours, as reported by the leading Pakistani daily, The Express Tribune.

"If the federal government fails to announce the cancellation of the canals project within 72 hours, we will demand that the Pakistan Peoples Party exit the government," Warraich said.

“It is being portrayed that only the lawyers are protesting in Sindh. To counter this, doctors will observe a strike across Sindh in a day or two,” he added.

Meanwhile, in an interview with a local news channel, SHCBA Hyderabad's President Advocate Ayaz Hussain Tunio mentioned that if the 72-hour ultimatum lapses, they would begin blocking railway tracks from Rohri, in the Sukkur district.

He expressed that the meeting decided to shut down interprovincial traffic that is still operational within the province.

Raising concerns, he noted that their camp at Babarloi has not been provided adequate security, warning that the Pakistan police DIG of Sukkur district and SSP of Khairpur would be held accountable for any untoward incidents.

In response to the Sindh Bar Council’s call for protest against the canals, numerous lawyers were absent from the Larkana circuit bench of the Sindh High Court and lower courts.

They affirmed that their colleagues' sit-in at the Babarloi bypass would persist until the government abandons the project.

The opposition to the construction of six canals on the Indus River was also evident in various medical institutions in Pakistan.

Students from Chandka Medical College (CMC), under the banner of the all-parties students' action committee, protested on campus against the canal initiative, demanding the government retract its plans, as reported by the prominent Pakistani newspaper, Dawn.

Speaking to journalists, they expressed that the canal project threatens to devastate Sindh's fertile lands, undermine its economic resources, disrupt the ecosystem, and jeopardize both the Indus Delta and local civilization.

Furthermore, members of the Pakistan Paramedical Staff Association also protested against the canals at the CMC Children’s Hospital. The demonstrators labeled it a conspiracy, asserting their organization would not allow it to come to fruition.

They further stated it would be unwise to pursue such a project that would irrigate desert lands in Cholistan, at the expense of rendering thousands of acres of fertile land in Sindh barren.