The civil society of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa here on Friday rejected Water Accord 1991 and vowed to resist relocation of Khanpur Dam and four union councils of the province in Islamabad City Territory (ICT). These views were expressed by speakers while addressing a dialogue tiled "Illegal Supply of Water from Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa to Islamabad and Rawalpindi", here at Peshawar Press Club (PPC). The dialogue was held under the auspices of Pakhtun Awareness Movement (PAM).
The speakers said that ANP inflicted injustices with Pakhtuns, saying Fazal-e-Haq, during the military regime of late General Zia-ul-Haq, declined to accept 22 percent share of water. However, a former coalition of ANP agreed on only eight per cent with Punjab, they added.
They said that Punjab has no right on the water of River Indus, but the establishment diverted it to Ghazi Barotha on the pretext of producing electricity and unlawfully installed turbine in Punjab.
They recalled that during MMA's government in the province, a resolution was passed by the provincial assembly, which said that the water of KP will not be given to Islamabad and Rawalpindi. They demanded of the incumbent government to pass the same resolution, as the 21st century is the century of water and nations knowing its importance will rule the world.
They announced that as KP was ignored in the Water Accord of 1991 therefore, they reject the treaty and demand its immediate cancellation. The speakers strongly condemned inclusion of four union councils adjacent to Khanpur Dam with Islamabad, alleging that federal government wants occupation of all resources of the province and KP's residents have deliberately been deprived under the pre-planned conspiracy.
They pointed out that earlier, Attock, Mianwali and Margalla mountains were parts of KP, which were included in Punjab by the establishment after occupying the resources of the province. They called for relocation of the cities with the province. They also called for the waiving of all kind of fees of the students of the province, affected by terrorism and floods.
Those who addressed the seminar included chairman, PAM, Shahbuddin Khattak, Mohammad Jan Gilani (PPP-Sherpao), Engineer Khalil Khan Khalil (ANP), Najibullah Khan (Qaumi Tehrik), Dr Said Alam and Idrees Kamal of PAM. A large number of civil society activists included lawyers, journalists and people from different walks of life also attended the function.