Apprehensions abound: Parties fear provincial disharmony
Several political parties have expressed fear that Lahore High Court’s (LHC) ruling on Kalabagh Dam can spark provincial disharmony.
Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) chief Altaf Hussain warned that the order will spread chaos. He said that such a decision could not be taken by the courts, but was the right of the government and the parliament. Such decisions, he said, are taken after consultation among provinces. He said that the move would further polarise ‘smaller provinces’, would increase strife among provinces and that the country did not need polarisation, but unity.
Sindh Information Minister and Pakistan Peoples Party’s deputy information secretary Sharjeel Memon claimed the party’s leadership would die before letting anyone build the dam. He termed it another conspiracy against the PPP government.
Even the opposition expressed reservations. “Any project which jeopardises inter-provincial harmony and endangers the federation should not be carried out,” said Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz information secretary Mushahidullah Khan.
“It would be more appropriate to drop Kalabagh Dam since three provinces have reservations against it,” he added.
Awami National Party (ANP), which had already expressed reservations against the case, maintained the court should not have delivered such a decision.
“It was not LHC’s job… the court should not have made a decision which cannot be implemented and ultimately result in contempt,” said ANP senator Haji Muhammad Adeel. He maintained such matters were part of the provincial assemblies’ domain.
“Three provincial assemblies have voted against Kalabagh Dam… the federal government had shelved it forever,” said Adeel, adding that LHC did not seek input from other provinces during the case proceedings. “The decision is likely to damage the existing environment (of provincial harmony),” he warned.
“In the present political environment, it is next to impossible to construct the Kalabagh Dam,” said Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) secretary general Mushahid Hussain Syed, adding that “the unity of the federation should take primacy.”
PML-Q senator Kamil Ali Agha, however, supported the LHC decision.“Kalabagh Dam can give a new life to the country’s economy… there is no alternate to it,” he said while talking to The Express Tribune. But, while he commended the decision, he said the true solution lies in addressing the reservations of the project’s detractors.
The most vehement hostility towards LHC’s decision came from Sindh’s nationalist parties, which maintained it had put Pakistan’s integrity at stake. Talking to The Express Tribune, Sindh Tarraqi Passand Party president Dr Qadir Magsi said the decision was a grave violation of the rights of the majority of Pakistan’s people since the dam had been rejected by the Sindh, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan assemblies.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 30th, 2012.
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This dam is a litmus test for all Pakistanis, can we put aside personal interests and do something that is collectively good for Pakistan? Will our politicians stop playing on provincial loyalties for gaining votes and actually construct a single dam with no pay-offs or bribes for the politicians of any particular province? .
I know allowing a project to be conducted withouth massive bribes and payouts from the contractor all the way up to the CEO is unthinkable in the PPP led government, but maybe just this once?
The shortage of electricity that Pakistan is facing today is because of these political pundit who are against building the dam. None of these pundits have seen engineering report of the dam, or try to comprehend it? In 1991 all the provinces agreed upon building Kalabagh dam. While India raced building dams at every opportunity they would, these political pundit made sure it doesn't happen in Pakistan. Today everyone from Peshawar to Karachi is suffering because of shortage of electricity. Many industrialist have moved their industry out of the country and thousands of people has been unemployed, but why should these pundits care? Does any of these pundits have any better solution before ditching in a almost perfect dam site?