Pakistan

Kalabagh issue turns the house into a fish market

Zia Khan June 16, 2010

ISLAMABAD: The National Assembly turned into a fish market on Tuesday after a female opposition lawmaker from Punjab demanded the construction of the controversial Kalabagh dam, inviting the ire of Pakhtun and Sindhi nationalist legislators.

A lifeless budget debate saw a few moments of high drama when lawmakers from Punjab and the rest of the country set aside their party affiliations to support and oppose the controversial hydropower project.

The house echoed with shouting and desk thumping of lawmakers, as none was willing to listen to the viewpoint of the other.

It all started when Bushra Rehman of the PML-Q urged the government to take immediate steps for the construction of Kalabagh Dam, which, she thought, was vital to securing a prosperous future for coming generations.

“It (Kalabagh Dam) is to save the country.it is for the coming generation of Pakistan,” Rehman spoke of Kalabagh Dam which the incumbent government says will never be constructed without the consensus of all four provinces.

Bushra’s demand infuriated members from the Awami National Party (ANP) and some lawmakers of the ruling Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) as they interrupted her speech by shouting at her.

Members from Rehman’s PML-Q and rival PML-N set aside their political differences, at least for some time, to launch a counter-attack on the opponents of Kalabagh Dam. As a result the house turned into a fish market.

ANP’s Pervez Khan said that the demand for the construction of the controversial dam negated the spirit of both democracy and the Constitution as three out of four provinces have rejected the proposal.

“If the Kalabagh dam issue is raised here again.it will trigger hatred among the federating units,” Khan argued.

Khan’s point of view was supported by a PPP member from Sindh who called the Kalabagh Dam issue a “dead horse” which should never be talked about in the National Assembly.

He dared supporters of the project to initiate it. “If Nawaz Sharif (former

premier) could not do it with a two-thirds majority and Musharraf (could not do it) with his guns, who else can build it,” said Gul Muhammad Jakharani.

Earlier, a PPP stalwart opposed the way his own party’s government is handling the economic matters and called for a paradigm shift.

MNA Zafar Ali Shah said people were now regretting for voting the PPP to power and urged the party leadership to move swiftly to win back the support it once commanded.

Several members from rural feudalistic background censured calls for taxing the agriculture sector as the debate entered what appeared to be the final round before the process of the passage of the budget starts.

Published in the Express Tribune, June 16^th, 2010.

COMMENTS (4)

Alam | 14 years ago | Reply We should not be ashamed of our fish market, sorry to say, PARLIAMENT. Look at South Korea their parliament is the place where kung-fu is practiced

Sultan Ahmed | 14 years ago | Reply What is being done in the representative form. what is being spoken in the parliament that is voice of 1.7 millions people. During the session the whole country people saw no consensus what the nation heard; '' the day will come Kalabagh dam you see a ground reality'' Kalabagh dam will construct on our dead bodies'' Confrontation in the views are converting into conflict but no one think water is the dire need of the time we are facing crisis after crisis and crisis is growing with the passage of time you are taking the nation toward horrible destruction. You are requested to please prefer the option which goes national beneficial which goes to interests of majority and majority rule is a democratic rule. In case, you are really Pakistani and see Pakistan prosperous and the peoples delightful please remove all differences and move with love and consensus, thanks.

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Zafar Ali | 14 years ago | Reply Kala Bagh Dam is indeed a need of hour. ANP are not patriotic to Pakistan as their leaders have time and again proven that and they are not even true Pathans as they are coward people (their leader fled from charsadda). They are implanted agents who only want to plunder the wealth of Pakistan like getting contract of LPG worth Rs. 30 million per month and they are assigned task to create disturbance and chaos in the country. Zafar Ali (One who dares to stand face to face to internal and external enemy)

Syed Ruhulamin | 14 years ago | Reply this is a normal situation in pakistani national assembly because here every member has passed just primary education. so this is the conditon of our national assembly.

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