ISLAMABAD? SWABI -  Abdullah Hussain Haroon has donated the entire salary of his tenure as Minister for Foreign Affairs in the Fund-2018 for the construction of "Diamer Basha and Mohmand Dam".

“This humble contribution is an effort to contribute towards the national cause,” a statement issued by the Minister in Islamabad said Monday.

Two former chairmen of Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda) Shamsul Mulk, and Shakil Durrani, on Monday donated Rs100,000 each for the construction of Diamer Basha and Mohmand dams.

At present, Shamsul Mulk is president of Society for the Promotion of Engineering Sciences and Technology in Pakistan (SOPREST) and Shakil Durrani is its executive director.

SOPREST is the parent body of Ghulam Ishaq Khan Institute of Engineering Sciences and Technology located in Topi, District Swabi, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.

Shamsul Mulk, who had also remained Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa caretaker chief minister, expressed hope that the two energy projects would prove very helpful in eradication of loadshedding from the country and would lead to a more prosperous Pakistan. Shamsul Mulk, who strongly advocated for construction of new energy projects, especially Kalabagh Dam, said that Pakistan pays Rs132 billion annually for failing to construct Kalabagh Dam.

Shakil Durrani said that these projects will help the country to address the water shortage and power generation issues. There is a dire need to utilise water resources to meet power requirements of the increasing population, he said.

Meaneile, Pir Pagara, the spiritual leader of Hurs and leader of Pakistan Muslim League-Functional, told his disciples on Monday that they should contribute funds for the construction of Diamer-Basha and Mohmand dams.

Pir Pagara made the announcement while on a three-day spiritual and political tour to Sanghar. He said the country has been facing acute shortage of water and that the situation will further worsen in the next four to five years. He claimed that farmers in Sindh have been worried for the provision of water to their agriculture fields, however, PPP co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari's fields were provided adequate water. During a hearing earlier this month, the Supreme Court had observed that water resources were crucial for survival and directed the authorities to take immediate and effective measures to build two dams — Diamer Bhasha and Mohmand. Furthermore, it had appealed to the general public, including Pakistanis residing abroad, to donate for the cause.

Subsequently, the Ministry of Finance on July 5 opened an account under the title of “DIAMER-BHASHA AND MOHMAND DAM FUND –2018”.

The account was opened in pursuance of the Supreme Court’s order to the federal government, Wapda and the executive authority to take effective measures in light of unanimous decisions of the Council of Common Interests (CCI) to develop the 4,500MW Bhasha dam and 700MW Mohmand dam.

The account bears Account No.03-593-299999-001-4 and IBN No.PK06SBPP0035932999990014 for raising funds for the construction of the two dams. Chief Justice Saqib Nisar has formally deposited Rs1 million as a donation in the account from his personal account.

An SC announcement says that payments in the fund will be received at all branches of the State Bank of Pakistan, all treasuries and branches of the National Bank of Pakistan and all other scheduled banks. On July 7, the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims) management requested its staff to donate to funds for the construction of dams. Pims Executive Director Dr Raja Amjad issued a circular, stating that the staff should donate funds for the construction of Diamer-Bhasha and Mohmand dams.