Bilawal Bhutto Zardari is belatedly angry. He is also stuck between Cholistan and a hard place. Can he find a way out?

The canals controversy is spiraling out of control. Well, nearly so. The Green Pakistan Initiative, aimed at converting barren land into cultivable one in South Punjab and utilising it for modern corporate farming, is backed by the powerful SIFC.

The federal and Punjab governments are tagging along. And so was the PPP, apparently. Till Sindh rose up in protest. The new canals will deprive us of our Indus water, the people of Sindh shouted. No, it won’t, said the Punjab government meekly. Then everyone moved on. As did the grand project.

Except Sindh. It continued to simmer and simmer. Till it started touching boiling point. That is when nationalist parties in the province took up the cause. They finally had a stick to beat the PPP with. Now they are joined by lawyers and various other segments of society. Protests are mushrooming. Roads are blocked and shutters are down. A technical water-sharing issue has ballooned into a political powder keg.

It is a classic lesson in how to mishandle a situation effectively.

It is, in fact, a 3-step lesson. Step 1: Ignore key stakeholders while finalizing a........

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