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Karachi: The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP)-led coalition government has scrapped the decades-old controversial plan of building Kalabagh dam on the Indus river, saying that it was damaging national unity and harmony.
The announcement was made by Water & Power Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf a day earlier, which has been hailed by most of the nationalist groups and political parties belonging to Sindh and North West Frontier Province.
"The construction of Kalabagh dam could endanger the federation of Pakistan," Ashraf told reporters in Lahore. "Both Sindh and North West Frontier provincial assemblies have passed resolutions against its construction. The issue has already been the bone of contention and discord among the provinces. Therefore we are scrapping it altogether," he said.
Kalabagh dam has been bitterly opposed by the nationalist forces since 1980s when the project was envisaged by the military ruler General Mohammad Ziaul Haq to generate power and store water for agricultural purposes. The project was seen benefiting the Punjab province at the cost of smaller provinces.
Revival attempt
President Pervez Musharraf tried to revive the project, but shelved it because of the bitter opposition and protests. However, the PPP government now has dropped the plans altogether.
Veteran Sindhi nationalist leader Rasool Bux Palijoo, who leads his radical left-wing Awami Tehreek, said that it was a welcome move and would help remove distrust among the provinces. "The government should look at other options for generating power that includes exploiting the huge coal reserves of Sindh in the desert region of Tharparkar."
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