Chairperson Pakistan Peoples Party alleged on Thursday that the government was trying to divert attention from its failure in providing adequate earthquake relief and rehabilitation by raising the Kalabagh Dam (KBD) issue.
In a statement, she recalled that for the last nearly three decades, one military dictator after another had tried to divide the country and the people by raising the Kalabagh dam issue with a view to weakening the opposition.
She strongly opposed the construction of Rs 150 billion new Defence Services Complex, saying the project of colossal cost was not needed.
Ms Bhutto said that the Quaid-e-Azam created Pakistan as a federation and its three units voted against the project. Therefore, it could not be built without consensus.
She said that the people of Punjab had given sacrifices for Pakistan and would not want to endanger the Federation by building a dam rejected by three of the federating units.
The former premier said that the PPP opposed construction of the Kalabagh dam on the grounds that first, it was against the federal principle and therefore illegal, second, it would not resolve the water issue and third, it would add to the debt burden of the country crushing the common people under its weight.
Ms Bhutto asked the rulers to rebuild Muzzafarabad, Balakot and other earthquake-affected areas as well as invest in schools, hospitals, sanitation, water supplies, strengthening of irrigation canals, flood control and job generation instead of wasting funds on 'white elephant' projects such as the new GHQ in Islamabad.
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