Rumpus in Senate over Kalabagh Dam

The Senate session erupted into a raucous debate as senators strongly objected to the construction of Kalabagh Dam.

ISLAMABAD: The Senate session on Thursday erupted into a raucous debate as Senators from Sindh, Balochistan and Khyber-Paktunkhwa strongly objected to PML-Q Senator from Punjab Tariq Azim’s demand for construction of the Kalabagh Dam (KBD).

Those opposed to KBD called those in favour of the project “traitors” and they were paid back in the same coin by the PML-Q Senators from Punjab. The Senate chairman had to suspend the proceedings to cool frayed tempters.

It all started soon after the session began and Senator Tariq Azim took the floor to talk on the budget. During his speech he demanded that consensus should be forged on the KBD project and an international commission should be formed to brief the National Assembly and the Senate on the controversial project.

This demand infuriated Senators from the three smaller provinces who rose on their benches and started raising slogans against the project. Lashkarai Raisani, Maula Bux Chandio, Khatoo Mal and Gul Muhammad Lot of the PPP, Khalid Mahmood Soomro and Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haidri of the JUI-F, Shahid Bugti of the JWP, Kalsoom Parveen of the BNP-A, Zahid Khan and Haji Adeel of the ANP and Abdul Razaq Thaheem of the PML-F, all stood up and began shouting.

The Senate chairman asked them to sit down and allow Senator Azim to complete his speech. He said it was the right of every member of the house to give his point of view.

But the agitating Senators said they would not listen to the talk on the subject. Zahid Khan said that three provinces had rejected the KBD project so it was not fair to talk about it. The chairman, then, suspended the session for 15 minutes. But that did not stop Senators from sloganeering for a few minutes.

Senator Soomoro led the chorus against the KBD which was answered equally vociferously by a group led by Senator Javed Ali Shah of the PML-Q from Punjab. Both sides challenged each others’ patriotic credentials.

The session started again after the 15 minute break that had helped in calming down the situation. Tariq Azim resumed his speech but then he appeared wiser as he refrained from broaching the matter.

The house then proceeded with the business of the budget debate. Lashkari Raisani said people who had benefited under a military dictator were opposing the budget.

Talha Mahmood of the JUI-F demanded creation of the Hazara province. Safdar Abasi of the PPP said that taxes have been increasing for the last five years and this continuous increase in taxes has created more poverty.

The budget debate was concluded with the speech of Abbasi as the Senate had already approved its budgetary recommendations on Wednesday.

The Senate will meet again Friday morning to take up cut-motions.

Published in the Express Tribune, June 18^th, 2010.