There was sad news in media on 6 December that the ministry of water and power, in connivance with so-called Friends of Pakistan, has recommended abolishing age-old first priority to the agriculture in the country and instead energy would be given first priority. Nonetheless, IRSA and controversial Wapda were asked to prepare operating rules. The new policy as per media was ready to be announced.In an agriculture based country, only an insane person can think to abolish the said first priority. It appears that the bureaucrats sitting in Islamabad have no other job except to harm the country as new policy is envisaged to build among others, controversial dams.
Three out of four provincial assemblies have already passed nine resolutions against the construction of Kalabagh Dam but a lobby in Punjab has refused to respect the resolutions. If the said dam is built forcibly, it would definitely and extremely harm the already fragile country. If they are so sincere to the whole country, why are they not pressuring Punjab to release water down stream Kotri as envisaged in Water Accord – 1991, after passing a long period of 21 years of signing the accord resulting in unnatural death of Indus delta – sixth largest in the world and also tremendous increase in miseries of 2.6 million people living in the area stretched between Kotri downstream and Arabian Sea in Sindh?
I appeal to the minister for water and power Mr Naveed Qamar to take notice of the conspiracies being hatched by bureaucrats of his ministry to harm the interests of three provinces, Sindh, Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkuwa on one or another pretext.
MOHAMMAD KHAN SIAL
Karachi
of course nothing should be given priority at the cost of another necessity, but energy is the life-blood of modern civilization. any nation that ignores the development of energy resources will remain on shaky foundations as unfortunately we are today.
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