Resolutions against Kalabagh dam submitted in Sindh, KP Assemblies

KARACHI: Voicing their opposition over widely-debated Kalabagh dam, the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and the Awami National Party (ANP) on Monday submitted resolutions against the dam in Sindh Assembly and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly, respectively, ARY News reported.

Submitting the resolution on behalf of his party in the KP Assembly, parliamentary leader of the ANP Sardar Hussain Babak said “the controversial issue” of construction of Kalabagh dam should not be raised again and again.

Babak suggested the government to work on other dams instead of Kalabagh.

Meanwhile, the resolution submitted by PPP MPA Taimur Talpur reads, “The Assembly of Sindh expresses grave concern over the announcement about the construction of Kalabagh dam.”

“It’s a known fact that people of Sindh, irrespective of their party affiliation, have repeatedly opposed construction of Kalabagh dam on the Indus River,” it adds.

Talpur said, “Kalabagh will ruin the economy and agriculture of Sindh and the Indus Delta will vanish.”

He said those who were opposing Kalabagh dam were being threatened of invoking Article 6 of the Constitution.

Earlier, voicing strong opposition to widely-debated Kalabagh Dam, the PPP leader Syed Nasir Hussain Shah says anyone speaking about Kalabagh Dam should be dealt under the Article-6 of the Constitution.

Read More: CJP promises another dam after Diamer-Bhasha dam: CJP

The remarks of the PPP MPA, during a talk show on ARY News, came in an indirect reference to the Chief Justice who earlier in the day warned that anybody opposing construction of dams will face high treason inquiry under Article-6 of the Constitution.

The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) MPA Haleem Adil Sheikh on Monday said that the federal government had no intention to build the controversial Kalabagh dam without developing consensus over the issue.

Addressing media outside Sindh Assembly, the PTI leader maintained that the PM Imran Khan and the federal government were collecting funds for Diamer Bhasha and Mohmand dams not the Kalabah dam, adding that no dam will be constructed without taking all provinces on-board.

In a recent statement, Chief Justice of Pakistan Mian Saqib Nisar said construction of Kalabagh dam could be genuine guarantor of Pakistan’s survival.

“After Diamer-Bhasha and Mohmand dam, we would build Kalabagh dam as well, if the nation stays united,” he said.

The chief justice said a plan to construct Kalabagh dam was not abandoned, but experts insisted in their research that its construction was not immediately possible.