In Pakistan’s Sindh province, a group of protesters opposing the government’s irrigation canal projects targeted a Hindu minister. Kheal Das Kohistani, the state minister for religious affairs, was travelling through the area when demonstrators hurled potatoes and tomatoes at his motorcade. Kohistani, who is a minister in Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's federal cabinet, was not injured in the attack that took place in Sindh’s Thatta district, a region known for its significant minority population, especially Hindus.

Sharif denounced the assault on Kohistani and promised a detailed investigation into what happened. He stated, "The attack on public representatives is unacceptable. The persons involved in the incident would be given exemplary punishment."

The attack on Kohistani highlights Pakistan’s double standards. While it criticises other nations over minority rights, it continues to mistreat its own minority communities like Hindus and Christians, many of whom face persecution and forced conversions. Kohistani was targeted during a protest against the federal government’s irrigation canal plans. Protesters argued that these projects would reduce river flow to Sindh, harming its agriculture.

As a PML-N (Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz) leader, Kohistani also faced angry slogans from the crowd, which blamed his party’s central government for backing the controversial plan. The federal government has unveiled a plan to build six canals in Punjab to irrigate land in the Cholistan region as part of the Green Pakistan Initiative: the powerful military, the federal government, and the Punjab provincial administration back the project.

Various political parties and nationalist groups in Sindh have been protesting against the project, arguing that the canals would reduce the downstream water flow, negatively impacting irrigation in the region. Federal Information Minister Atta Tarar requested details from Sindh's Inspector General of Police (IGP), Ghulam Nabi Memon, regarding the attack on Kohistani, and also sought a report from the federal interior secretary. Sindh's Chief Minister, Syed Murad Ali Shah, also denounced the attack, stating that no one has the right to act outside the law. He instructed the Deputy Inspector General of Police for the Hyderabad region to promptly apprehend those responsible for the attack and provide a report.

Kohistani, a resident of Sindh's Jamshoro district resident, was initially elected as a Member of Parliament on a PML-N ticket in 2018. After completing a full five-year term, he was re-elected in 2024 and was approved for promotion to state minister.