HYDERABAD: Sindh United Party (SUP) president Syed Zain Shah has said that if canals are built at gunpoint then 70 million people of Sindh will consider it a `war` on them.

The SUP would not accept parceling out of Sindh`s land for corporate farming, the land already allocated should be returned to Sindh and coastal strip shouldbe protected,he said.Shah said at a gathering of District Bar Association (DBA) Jamshoro on Saturday that the Water Apportionment Accord 1991 was not implemented in letter and spirit. Under the accord, 5,000 cusecs flows were to be released Kotri downstream but it was not done, he said.

He paid tribute to lawyers for their struggle against construction of new canals on the Indus River and said that if canals were built at gunpoint then 70 million pe ople of Sindh would consider ita `war` on them.

He rejected corporate farming in Sindh and said SUP would not allow handing over of lands for the purpose.

The land already allocated should be returned to Sindh and coastal strip should be protected, he said.

He announced his party would raise voice on these issues and remarked that 1973 Constitution talked about taking decisions on the basis of population, which was in direct conflict with the principle of parity among provinces.He observed that all provinces should be given representation on the basis of parity in parliament and all decisions should be taken accordingly. The Save Indus River Movement would hold a public meeting in Badin on May 7 and in Karachi on May 11 to tell the government that people had given their verdict against canals and now their decision should be implemented, he said.

K. B. Laghari, Fahim Unnar, Wajid Khaskheli, Mir Ahmed Mangrio and others were also present at the gathering.