Karachi Bar Association president attacked for opposing canals project

In Pakistan, specifically Karachi, Aamir Nawaz Warraich, the President of the Karachi Bar Association (KBA), was violently assaulted on April 8, 2025. The attack occurred as he arrived at Cafe Bogey on II Chundrigar Road, where he was confronted by six assailants who allegedly attacked him because of his vocal opposition to the Cholistan canals project. This contentious project, aimed at irrigating approximately 4.8 million acres of barren land, has incited significant backlash in Sindh, where concerns over water distribution and ecological balance have been raised following its announcement. The Sindh Assembly had already unanimously passed a resolution demanding the cancellation of the canal construction due to fears of severe environmental impacts in the region. The incident drew immediate attention from law enforcement, with police initiating an investigation based on CCTV footage that documented the assault. Warraich sustained multiple injuries but declined to file an initial report at the time of the attack. However, he later decided to press charges, leading to the registration of a first information report (FIR) against five unidentified suspects under various sections of the Pakistan Penal Code and additional laws pertaining to the welfare and protection of lawyers. South DIG Syed Asad Raza highlighted that no deadly weapons were used, pointing to the incident as a scuffle rather than an organized attack. It was reported that those behind the attack had received threats prior to the incident from individuals threatening violence against him. This attack was perceived as an attempt to silence Warraich and curb his ongoing activism against the canal project. The KBA has scheduled a lawyers’ convention for April 12, indicating that Warraich and his colleagues would not back down from their opposition to the canal project, despite the risks they face. The incident has garnered political attention, urging the Sindh home minister to take swift actions for the safety of legal practitioners opposing government decisions regarding the canal project. Furthermore, it reflects a broader divide within Pakistan regarding resource allocation and environmental sustainability, with differing perspectives from Sindh and Punjab on the implications of such ambitious infrastructure projects.