Please see one of the many resolutions passed over the years by the Sindh assembly against the construction of Kalabagh dam. The language in all the resolutions is more or less the same. The fate of 19 crore people has been decided with one stroke of the pen, by people who cannot even write proper English: “The House resolves that the proposed Kalabagh dam, being detriminated (detrimental) to the interest of Pakistan in general and Sindh province in particular, be dropped. The House therefore recommends to the federal government to abandon this project once (and) for (all) to remove the misgivings of the people of Pakistan about Kalabagh dam”.
The resolutions of the KPK and Baluchistan assemblies are not much better or different. In all three cases the assembly members did not receive any briefing from officials or from neutral experts, there were no discussions on the pros and cons of building Kalabagh dam, and the resolutions were passed within minutes, one wonders why the haste?
A very senior politician said some years ago, “The Kalabagh site is the best site for a dam in Pakistan, and Kalabagh dam is the best project for the economy of the country, but we will not build it because ‘people’ have rejected it through their representatives”. I personally believe that this would be the greatest joke our enemies could play on us, if it was not so tragic. But we must ask again and again who are these people who have rejected this idea, are they friends or foes of Pakistan?
ENGR KHURSHID ANWER,
Lahore, March 20.