No court can decide fate of Kalabagh dam: Shah

Former opposition leader calls for finding a political solution to contentious issue

HYDERABAD: Former leader of the opposition in National Assembly Syed Khursheed Shah on Friday called for finding a political solution to the Kalabagh dam issue.

“[The] Kalabagh dam is purely a political issue and as such its solution can come only through a democratic process,” the veteran Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leader said while talking to the media in Sukkur. “No institution or court can impose their decision on the nation about the dam,” Shah made it clear.

"I respect Chief Justice Mian Saqib Nisar a lot. But it's for the Council of Common Interests to find a solution to the issue,” he said when asked about hearing of cases at the Supreme Court on water shortage and Kalabagh dam.

“It’s not the court’s role to organise seminars for building a consensus on the issue," said Shah.

Stressing the need for timely elections for country's stability and integrity, the PPP leader said concerns were being raised about delay in holding elections on schedule. “But we should believe in the chief justice's order that nobody will be allowed to delay the polls," he added.

Shah ruled out the possibility of martial law in the country and said that he felt satisfied after hearing a clear and emphatic stance of the chief justice on the matter. “Still if the elections are rigged, the country will plunge into a crisis,” he warned.

He backed the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz's concerns over selection of Dr Hasan Askari Rizvi as interim chief minister of Punjab and said, “Rizvi has been criticising the PML-N in his articles.”