The president of the Pakistan Businessmen and Intellectuals Forum (PBIF), Mian Zahid Hussain, has said that Afghanistan and Pakistan should try to find a solution to resolve the water issue, otherwise the masses will suffer and the outcome will not be in the interest of any country.
He said that now Afghanistan is constructing over a dozen dams costing over seven billion dollars which will have a capacity to store five MAF of water. These dams will reduce Pakistan's water share in the River Kabul by 17 percent, which will affect the lives of the people of Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa and FATA.
He said that the Pashtun population living on this side of the Durand Line has already suffered from exploitation, lack of opportunities, natural calamities and military operations, which destroyed the economy of that area.
He said that relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan have never remained cordial, which has resulted in frictions and economic losses to the tune of trillions of dollars.
The situation on the other side of the Durand Line cannot be very different, meaning that the Pashtun population of over fifty million continue to suffer and will suffer more in case of a water dispute between Pakistan and Afghanistan, he added.
Mian Zahid Hussain said that both countries should try to find a solution to resolve the issue otherwise masses will suffer and the outcome will not be in the interest of any country.
He said Afghanistan has become part of the Indian conspiracy to turn Pakistan into a desert.
India has already constructed dozens of dams while hundreds are under construction, hitting Pakistan's share of water and damaging our economy badly, he said.
Mian Zahid Hussain said that Indian moves have left the formula to share 18.5 million acre foot (MAF) of water useless, which has resulted in tensions and can turn into a bloody conflict.