HYDERABAD: Leaders of nationalist parties and civil society groups have demanded the provincial government shelve corporate farming and new canals project forthwith and distribute lands among landless peasants instead of handing them over to any institution,individual [investor] or company.

They were speaking at a conference on `new canals and corporate farming` organised by Sindh Hari Committee of Communist Party of Pakistan (CPP) at local press club on Sunday.

Sindh United Party president Syed Zain Shah said in his speech that Special Investment Facilitation Council had impinged on the concept of the federation and it had now become master of all assets of the country while Green Pakistan Initiative (GPI) was part of SIFC.

Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Jr observed that dams had hit dead level. `Is it fault of Sindhis these dams neither have water nor are they producing electricity?` he asked.

He said that water availability was fundamental right and upper riparian had to provide water to lower riparian, Sindh.

Awami Workers Partyleader Bakhshal Thallu said that people talked about the idea of `hard state` while forgetting that this state had never been `soft`.

National Party Sindh leader Comrade Taj Mari said that no canal should be built even in Tharparkar and dubbed Asif Zardari and Shehbaz Sharif as pawns in the whole scheme of things involving controversial canals project.

Karachi Bar Association`s general secretary, Rehman Korai, said that lawyers had organised a gathering on April 12 in Karachi on this issue. Even residents of south Punjab said that corporate farming was meant for retired soldiers.

CPP leader Imdad Kazi proposed that strike calls should be given on the issue as a joint action because too many speeches had been delivered in every programme.-Staff Correspondent