Controversial project: ANP criticises LHC’s remarks on Kalabagh Dam
Speaking at a press conference on Friday, he said that the construction of the Dam will be unjust to K-P as it would increase the chances of the province being flooded as witnessed in the 2010 floods. The LHC is urrently hearing a petition filed by the chairman of the judicial activism panel and others claiming that if Kalabagh Dam is not made, Punjab will become an agriculturally barren land. While deferring the case till October 31, the court said there should be consensus on the project, terming it in the “national interest”.
“The purpose of making the Dam is to stop the flow of River Indus into Sindh, which would flood K-P more frequently,” said Khattak.
“The Kalabagh Dam is a matter of life and death for K-P and we will never support its construction,” said Khattak adding that the judiciary should abstain from fuelling controversies between provinces. Khattak also strongly opposed the LHC chief justice’s remarks that objections to the project by Sindh and K-P were political, saying: “It was a technical issue and no party has played politics on it.”
“We honour the independence of the judiciary and stood by it against dictators. The judiciary should not make itself a controversial institution,” Khattak added.
Any chances of deliberating this issue in the Council of Common Interest (CCI) as LHC suggested in its remarks were also rejected by the senator.
“The LHC is basically fighting the case for the Punjab Government and the court’s remarks are the sentiments of the provincial government,” said Khattak.
He said the LHC’s verdict is bound to be partial since Punjab is the only province that supports the construction of the dam.
Khattak requested the Supreme Court to intervene in the issue and restrain the LHC from getting involved.
He believed that if smaller provinces’ interests continue to be ignored, it will destroy their faith in the judiciary.
Talking about other coalition parties in the government, he said the Pakistan Peoples Party and the ANP are united in their standpoint. Prime Minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf had also opposed the construction of this Dam when he was the minister for water and power.
“It would be in the interest of the nation to focus on the construction of Bhasha and Katzara Dam which have been approved as feasible projects by experts,” said Khattak.
He told journalists that the construction of these Dams would fulfil the energy requirements of the country for at least 100 years, adding that the Kalabagh Dam is technically not as effective.
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@Haris Khan: I have witnessed a number of discussions on this subject. I have also heard the arguments of the experts for and against the project. The concerns expressed by Sind hydrologists were more serious than the objections raised by KPK experts. Engineer Shamsul Mulk had categorically stated during the discussions on television channels that all these objections raised by the provinces can be resolved with slight modification of the basic design. This project has immense value for Pakistan's economy. The cost of the project is much less than Bhasha Dam. The people of all the provinces have to rise above the provincial concerns and look at this project from national point of view. However we should make concerted efforts to develop national consensus before we initiate construction work. You are absolutely right that the courts should avoid interfering in this politically loaded problem.
This is a controversial project; not only KP, but Sind is also opposing it. The honourable judiciary should abstain from such cases as it runs the risk of becoming a party to one province/political party which is pursuing the project. Technically the project has been proved flawed on numerous occasions. Instead of wasting our time, resources and risking the unity of our nation on projects like these, why dont we go for projects which are acceptable to all and equally useful such as Bhasha and Munda dams ets.
@S K Afridi: very well said.
Observations of Chief Justice of Lahore High Court should not be brushed aside without giving it due consideration. I believe there is a lot of sense in what the chief justice has said. Even famous engineer and ex Chairman WAPDA, Mr. Shamsul Mulk who hails from KPK, has termed the objections raised by provinces as ill founded and baseless. People of Pakistan should urge all the politicians to rise above the party and political considerations and look at the KBD project purely from the point of view of long term national interest of Pakistan.