Leading politicians, former federal minister, an ex chief minister and senior lawyer of the Punjab have opposed construction of Kalabagh Dam without evolving a consensus of all the four provinces.
Leaders opposed the construction of dam without consensus included former federal finance minister Dr Mubashar Hassan, Punjab ex-Chief Minister Mian Manzoor Ahmed Watto, Punjab PPP President Qasim Zia and Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) ex-President senior advocate Akram Sheikh.
Former Finance Minister and a renowned political analyst Dr Mubashar said the rhetoric of the Kalabagh Dam construction appeared similar to the notorious six points of late Sheikh Mujeeb-ur-Rehman of then East Pakistan and could pose serious threats to the integrity of the country and generate extreme discontentment in the Sindh.
Speaking in a TV discussion, he said there existed such a serious reservations and apprehensions in the three smaller provinces that even the "puppet" Sindh Chief Minister could not dare support the Kalabagh Dam openly and that was their political compulsion to oppose it.
He said the majority of the people of the then East Pakistan were not supporters of the Awami League in the sense of dismembering of the country, but when the question of deprivation was raised, the entire East Pakistan backed Sheikh Mujeeb-ur-Rehman.
The veteran leader recalled that at that point in time Karachi and Islamabad kept on insisting that it was not an issue of concern and the six points were not based on the realities.
Former Punjab Chief Minister and Senior Vice President Pakistan Muslim League (PML-Q) Main Manzoor Ahmed Watto said that was not the opportune time for the start of the Kalabagh dam and that it should be subjected to the creation of a consensus in the three provinces of Balochistan, Sindh and NWFP.
He said not only Kalabagh Dam but several more dams were required to be constructed instead those should had been constructed much earlier, but the given political situation was not appropriate for announcement of the start of the construction of the dam.
He said consensus could be created on that issue and the people of smaller provinces especially those of Sindh could be convinced that to meet their future requirements and the continued scarcity of water for the agricultural purposes in the country 'we desperately need new and major water reservoirs'. "There should be no announcement of the construction of dam in haste," he added.
Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Punjab President Qasim Zai warned that announcement of construction of the Kalabagh dam in haste could pave the way for civil war in the country. Any announcement could have serious implications for the integrity of the country and that the government must exercise restrain at least for the time being, he added.
SCBA Former President Muhammad Akram Sheikh said under the Constitution, President had no right or authority to single handedly and unilaterally announce any new scheme for construction of a new water reservoir.
He said article 155 of the Constitution clearly provided a mechanism for the settlement of disputes among the provinces or between the Federal government and the provincial government and that could be settled by the Council of Common Interests (CCI).
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