Govt expedites dams amid India tensions

Planning minister says defence budget will be raised

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LAHORE:

Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal on Saturday said the government would expedite the completion of all hydro-related projects, including Diamer-Bhasha and Mohmand dams, to prevent India from gaining any strategic advantage.

"We are prioritising them so that Pakistani water is secure," Iqbal said while speaking to a delegation of engineers led by Secretary General Institution of Engineers Pakistan (IEP) Engr Ameer Zameer.

He stated that work on hydro projects was being prioritised in response to India's water aggression.

India plans to dramatically increase the water it draws from a major river that feeds Pakistani farms downstream, as part of what it claims to be retaliatory action for a deadly last month attack on tourists in IIOJK's Pahalgam that New Delhi blames on Islamabad, according to four people familiar with the matter, Reuters reported.

While discussing plans for the green initiative, the planning minister stated that engineers were receiving training in China.

"The prime minister has sent over a thousand agricultural engineers to China for training, who will complete their training this year and bring about an agricultural Green Revolution 2.0," he said. "We aim to develop our own seeds and modernise our dairy and livestock sectors."

The planning minister observed that within the budget, funding has been allocated for an internship for engineers. "Thousands of young engineers across the country will be able to receive on-the-job training so that they receive better job opportunities in the market."

However, he stated that Pakistan would only have a development budget of Rs1 trillion to do all of this.

"Our ministers required Rs3 trillion to complete our ongoing projects. But, because of this shortfall, we are putting a cap on low-priority projects and will try to complete our high-priority projects as quickly as possible.

Iqbal further stated that Pakistan will raise its defence budget for the upcoming fiscal year 2025-26 keeping in view the recent escalation with India and New Delhi suspending a key river water-sharing treaty with Islamabad.

Earlier, the government planned to present the federal budget on June 2 but on Friday, Adviser to the Finance Minister Khurram Shahzad said that the budget would be presented on June 10.

The planning minister clarified that the budget had not been delayed due to any pressure from the IMF.