The glorious news of Lahore High Court deciding to go for Kalabagh Dam in the light of recommendations of Council of Common Interests (CCI) comes as a breath of fresh air after the suffocating atmosphere of decades about burying the Kalabagh Dam by self styled vested interests. The credit for resurrection of Kalabagh Dam goes squarely to the righteous Chief Justice of Lahore High Court and other Judges that decided the torpid issue after several decades of moratorium. The Kalabagh Dam is a life giving project for Pakistan to solve its endemic problems of water and power shortage bedeviling the industry and agriculture of Pakistan. The site of Kalabagh Dam was selected 50 years ago as one of the best sites for a hydro-electric dam and the Water Accord of 1991 had appointed the share of water for all the provinces with Punjab scarifying its share in favour of Sindh on equal basis at a level of 37 percent for each province.
The World Bank has paid for the feasibility of the project some three decades ago but the issue was kept on the backburner due to well known political factors as admitted by Yousuf Raza Gilani, former Prime Minister. I have written for the last quarter century about the benefits of Kalabagh Dam for all the provinces and prayed to Allah during Hajj this year to give Pakistani authorities the strength to decide for Kalabagh Dam. Allah accepted my prayers and Lahore High Court decided the issue of Kalabagh Dam cutting the Gordian knot with one stroke. Allah may bless the Chief Justice for saving Pakistan from a bleak future.
DR MUHAMMAD YAQOOB BHATTI,
Lahore, December 30.