PML-Q organizes seminar on Kalabagh Dam in Islamabad

Lahore : Pakistan Muslim League-Q senior central leader and former Deputy Prime Minister Ch Pervaiz Elahi has said that Kalabagh Dam was guarantee for provision of water, cheap electricity and prosperity for all the four provinces and for the better future of the poor.

He said this while addressing national seminar on Kalabagh Dam held under the auspices of the Pakistan Muslim League (PML) and talking to media in Islamabad today. MPA Moonis Elahi was the chief organizer of the seminar.

Former Chief Minister Khyber Pukhtoonkhwah and Chairman WAPDA Engineer Shamsul Mulk, prominent economic expert and former Federal Finance Minister Dr Salman Shah, Senator Mendokhel from Balochistan and other leaders said that not constructing Kalabagh Dam was a conspiracy against the Federation, rulers of the Punjab were also not sincere about its construction, Mian brothers bartered on it for their “kursis” whereas construction of Kalabagh Dam would eliminate darkness from all the four provinces and ending shortage of water for irrigation besides lakhs of acres of barren land would be habituated, Pakistan would become surplus country and defence budget problem would also be solved.

The seminar was also addressed by Nisar Safdar, Zafar Bakhtarwi, Khaliq Mahmundullah, Abdul Rahim Baloch, Col Abdul Razzaq Bugti, Rizwan Mumtaz Ali and Muhammad Suleman Khan, First session was presided over by prominent expert Shamusul Mulk while second session was chaired by Ch Parvez Elahi. Besides experts, important personalities from all walks of life were present in the seminar.

Ch Pervaiz Elahi said that for elimination of poverty areas like Thar would have to be made green, for construction of Kalabagh Dam all its opponents would be invited, with open heart every individual would be convinced, difference of opinion was beauty of democracy but for brighter future of coming generations mutual differences would have to be ended, with the construction of Kalabagh Dam electricity now costing Rs 18 per unit would be available at Rs 2. 50, we had pushed IMF out but they had brought it again, Kalabagh Dam was not a dam of just one province but of entire Pakistan, Sindh would benefit the most from the dam and then Khyber Pukhtoonkhwah, Balochistan and Punjab would benefit from it. Responding to a question while talking to the media, Ch Parvez Elahi said that for construction of Kalabagh Dam an All Parties Conference (APC) could also be convened shortly. In reply to another question, , he condemned N-League firing on PTI rally and said that it was greatly regretful that this firing incident proved the incompetency of the Punjab Govt.

Ch Pervaiz Elahi said further in the seminar that that like many other promises of the present govt, promise to end load shedding of electricity in six months had also proved false and even no sincere effort was visibly behind made in this regard either, electricity cost was constantly being made so much costly that the poor people were crying that whether they should provide twp times meals to their children or pay the electricity bills, electricity rates were higher even than India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka which was Rs 3 to Rs 5 per unit during tenure of 2002 to 2007 and today it was in the ratio of Rs 18 to Rs 20 per unit apart from fuel adjustment charges and surcharge, every year about 40 million acres feet of precious was wasted by going into the sea, experts had rightly stated in the seminar that this wasted water not only help in generation of electricity but also Sindh could get 4 million acres feet, Khyber Pukhtoonkhwah 2. 2 million acres feet, Balochistan 1. 5 million acres feet and Punjab 2 million acres feet of water more for agricultural purposes, likewise agriculture of Sindh and Khyber Pukhtoonkhwah would benefit more than Punjab, quite logical talking today of Mr Shamsulmulk and other experts importance of Kalabagh Dam would have become clear to the friends of Khyber Pukhtoonkhwah and other provinces. He said further that floods had caused 30 billion dollars to the national economy in four years whereas present estimated cost of Kalabagh Dam was 9 billion dollars, if dam had been constructed then the national economy would not suffered so much and also 3500 precious human lives also could have been saved.

Continuing Ch Pervaiz Elahi said that as the Punjab Chief Minister during the NFC Award meeting on the proposal regarding distribution of electricity and gas on sources based formula instead of population, he had stated that his was only condition that let us all today sign the project for the construction of Kalabagh Dam so that all the four provinces of Pakistan could get rid of energy crisis permanently and on this all the Chief Ministers had kept silent. He said there was need for removing the misunderstandings spread in other provinces particularly in Khyber Pukhtoonkhwah and Sindh regarding Kalabagh Dam and this seminar organized by the PML was part of such efforts. He said that political difference was beauty of politics and democracy but we should not surrender such a project to political differences with which light, development and prosperity of future generations of Pakistan was linked.

Former Chief Minister Khyber Pukhtoonkhwah and Chairman WAPDA Engineer Shamsul Mulk said that not constructing the Kalabagh Dam was conspiracy against the Federation, even the rulers of the Punjab were also not sincere about construction of this dam, for ensuring brighter future of our children this would have to be essentially constructed, late President Ayub Khan had planned for the Indus study for making Pakistan the Asian tiger under which electricity cost could have been come down quite appreciably whereas the World Bank had also said in 1973 that future development and prosperity of Pakistan would depend on Kalabagh Dam, for meeting its requirements it was essential for Pakistan to construct Kalabagh Dam after Mangla and Tarbela, its feasibility report was also made in 1977 and best world experts of the World Bank were put on the Indus study but not knowing which people said about their report that there were technical defects on which basis construction of Kalabagh Dam was stopped. He said that for getting water for agriculture the Kalabah Dam site was the best which would irrigate entire Sindh and thirst of Thar could also be quenched by Kalabagh Dam.

He said that WAPDA had decided in 1992 that Kalabagh Dam should be constructed by 1995, Bhasha Dam be completed by 2010, electricity costing Rs 18 per unit today would have been available at the rate of Rs 1. 54 per unit in case Kalabagh Dam had been constructed and free water would have been available for irrigation purposes, Pakistan was now suffering Rs 192 billion loss annually on account of electricity. Shamsul Mulk that Pakistan had been cheated not by enemies but its own rulers who themselves do not pay the price of electricity, price of the fuel used in running the generators for the President, the Prime Minister, Chief Minister and the Governors Houses was also paid by the civilian who did not used electricity at all. He said World Bank was no more World Bank but had become the Indian Company, present rulers say that Kalabagh Dam should not be constructed, we should be told that whether the govt in 1967 was telling lie or this govt was telling lie. He said that Tarbela Dam could be used for meeting power requirements and Kalabagh Dam for irrigation needs.

PML Senator Saeedul Hassan Mendokhel from Balochistan said that there was no problem for Balochistan if Kalabagh Dam was constructed, according to a recent report of the World Bank in the coming ten years people from Quetta would start migrating because Balochistan would be facing water shortage, some political parties which did not have any issue were using it as an issue to create obstruction in its way, Balochistan was in favour of construction of Kalabagh Dam.

Former Federal Finance Minister Dr Salman Shah said that economy of Pakistan could not flourish without water which was basic ingredient for elimination of hunger and poverty, 25 million acres land of Pakistan was lying barren because of Kalabagh Dam not being constructed, if Kalabagh Dam was constructed then Punjab alone could get 20 billion dollars annually from agriculture sector but other provinces would also benefit equally from it, Kalabagh Dam could become the biggest source for provision for cheap electricity but our rulers were not ready for its construction because of some confusion, we have the resources for construction of Kalabagh Dam even without going to the IMF, from the dam we could store water for three years and there was other dam in the world which could store water for such long period, Sindh, South Punjab, southern Khyber Pukhtoonkhwah and eastern Balochistan could benefit from Kalabagh Dam and even the problem of defence budget of Pakistan could also be solved with the construction of this dam and Pakistan could become a surplus country.

PML’s Senator Kamil Ali Agha, Ch Zaheeruddin Khan, Muhammad Basharat Raja, Senator Mohsin Leghari, Mian Imran Masood, Imtiaz Ranjha, Dr Amjad, Dr Azeemuddin Lakhvi, Raja Nasir, Waqas Mokal, Zain Elahi, Rana Zahid Rauseef, women leaders Farrukh Khan, Sameena Khawar Hayat, Amna Ulfat, Khadeeja Farooqi, Tamkeen Aftab and other PML leaders were also among those who participated in the seminar.