The Jalalpur canal, recently placed into trial operation, has reignited a long-simmering water dispute between Punjab and Sindh. While Punjab frames the project as a use of its own water share, Sindh's objections — pending before the Council of Common Interests (CCI) since 2024 — highlight unresolved questions about water availability and inter-provincial equity. Main Developments The 117km canal, with a design discharge of 1,350 cusecs, off-takes from the right bank of the Rasul barrage on the Jhelum river. It is intended to irrigate about 68,000 hectares in Punjab's Potohar plateau, mainly in Pind Dadan Khan and Khushab during the Kharif season. Punjab maintains the canal will run on its own share of water through internal adjustment, a claim Sindh disputes. The province has already distributed all its water under the 1991 Water Accord, so any internal adjustment would require reducing the share of another canal command area — yet no such sacrifice is mentioned in public project documents. Read also: PTI's Raja: No System Change Until True Representatives Elected The Indus River System Authority (Irsa) issued a no-objection certificate in September 2014, but only on condition that Punjab use its own share. The Sindh member dissented, and the decision passed 4-1, with Irsa declining to examine how Punjab would adjust canal allocations without harming existing command areas. Background Sindh's opposition is not new. In early 2018, the provincial government raised objections at an Ecnec meeting, and in November 2021 it formally conveyed reservations to the federal planning ministry. That same month, the Sindh Assembly unanimously passed a resolution — moved by Irrigation Minister Jam Khan Shoro and others — expressing grave concern over the project. The resolution described the Jalalpur canal and the Chaubara branch canal under the Greater Thal Canal (Phase-II) as violating the 1991 Water Accord and the Irsa Act, 1992. It also criticized the federal government for allegedly proceeding despite Sindh's legal objections. A key technical concern is the canal's water allowance: approximately 6.75 cusecs per thousand acres, nearly two-and-a-half times the 2.75 cusecs per thousand acres used in Sindh's canal systems. This design choice raises questions about efficiency and equity in water distribution. Why It Matters The canal operates on a non-perennial basis from April to October, which overlaps with the early Kharif season — a critical period when the Indus system already faces severe shortages. Sindh has documented shortages over 50 percent in early Kharif for several years, and this year saw up to 65 percent shortages at Kotri barrage during those months. Because Sindh's Kharif crops are sown earlier than Punjab's, any additional diversion of 1,350 cusecs could devastate its agriculture. Sindh also fears that Punjab, lacking surplus water, will eventually divert extra water through the Chashma-Jhelum and Taunsa-Panjnad link canals to meet Jhelum zone demands — a move that would ultimately hurt the Indus delta. The delta already receives little or no freshwater for much of the year, and reduced inflows would accelerate seawater intrusion and erode livelihoods for delta communities. The dispute also tests the credibility of institutions like Irsa and the CCI, which are meant to resolve such conflicts under Article 154 of the Constitution. What's Next Sindh's summary remains pending with the CCI, a constitutional forum empowered to address inter-provincial water conflicts. The canal's trial operation proceeds despite this, deepening mistrust between the federation and provinces. No timeline has been announced for CCI's consideration of Sindh's objections. The key open question remains whether Punjab can demonstrate a genuine internal water adjustment plan that does not disadvantage existing canal command areas — a point Irsa has not yet addressed.