In a letter sent to Editor-in-Chief Majid Nizami, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has appreciated the referendum conducted by Nawa-i-Waqt Group on Kalabagh Dam, which had shown 99 percent of the respondents as favouring the project.
The PM has written that the newspaper always acts as a guardian angel of Pakistan’s national interests. He also admitted that the government was fully aware of its duties to build water reservoirs in order to cope with the energy crisis. However, where it is a source of comfort to know that Mr Gilani is aware of the need for the dam, his government’s lack of action to convince the dissenters to change their minds is incomprehensible. The Nawa-i-Waqt particularly carried out the referendum and submitted its results to the Prime Minister to convince him that the people from across the country overwhelmingly support the project, something that should propel the government to work out an agreement with the provinces as soon as possible. Not only that. An important member of his own party, Governor Salman Taseer, has prepared a list of 100 points showing Kalabagh’s advantages. Keeping in view the result of the referendum and a variety of reports prepared by technical experts, Mr Gilani must immediately launch a nationwide campaign to convince the provinces that the dam is indispensable for the country and must be immediately built. Besides, the general feeling in the country, even in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, is that the power crisis and water scarcity have not only pushed the economy to the brink of disaster but also destroyed the peace. The common man also endorses the views of the technical experts on the dam. TV Channels have been repeatedly showing that even in areas close to Nowshera, the local population is eagerly awaiting Kalabagh’s construction.
Mr Gilani would have to move beyond rhetoric and act in a firm manner. Any delay would worsen the electricity and water shortages and create resentment for the leaders.