Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) senators staged a protest during a Senate session on Tuesday against the controversial channel project that accused the federal government of water theft and called for urgent debate on the issue.

The session, led by Senate President Yousaf Raza Gillani, began with opposition members who expressed frustration at not having time to raise order points, Express News reported.

Tensions escalated as PPP senators stood from their seats and sang slogans like “Water Thief, which is not acceptable” and “Stop stealing Sindh’s water.”

Senator Saifullah Abro highlighted the ongoing protests in Sindh, where people have been demonstrating for over a week. He emphasized that several parties had submitted decisions in the Senate against the channel project and required a chance to speak.

Chairman Gillani responded by requesting Senator Abro to talk after the question. However, Abro, however, staged a sit-in in front of the President’s DAIS.

Gillani suggested that the case be brought to the floor for debate through coordination with Senator Sherry Rehman. The PPP senators, dissatisfied with the answer, staged a walkout from the session.

Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar assured the house that the government was open to dialogue and that no decision would be forced through without proper consultation. He confirmed that cabinet members were present to answer questions.

In the middle of the protest, President Gillani noted a decision call, but initially confirmed that Parliament had the required number of members. However, a subsequent count revealed that the quorum was incomplete, which led to the ringing of bells in the Senate galleries.

The protest was intensified with Pakistan Tehreek-E-Insaf (PTI) senators who raised high slogans. Senator Humayun Mohmand criticized the government and stated that it was shameful for state members to raise Quorum objections. Senator Falak Naz Chitrali shouted, “PPP drowned in shame.”

At one point, only one senator remained from the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), Nasir Butt, sitting in the chamber.

Head of the opposition Shibli Faraz also criticized the government, pointing out that Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa had been deprived of her senate representation for a year. He condemned the lack of filling the vacant seat that Sania Nishtar had left behind and claimed that some parties had blocked the election process.

Chairman Gillani replied that the Election Commission was duly informed of the vacant seat. However, as the decision -making skills remained incomplete with only 19 members present, however, the chairman postponed the session until Friday at. 10.30pm.