Babar Awan surprised me by coming out in support of Kalabagh dam in a TV interview. He also criticised the cowardly stand of some parties on the issue. Obviously, he was hinting at PML-N. The ground reality, seeing the violent reaction to the Lahore High Court judgement in Sindh and KPK, is that any party supporting the dam will be wiped out in Sindh and KPK in the elections. This will mean giving a blank cheque to PPP. Which perhaps is a fate even worse than not building Kalabagh dam, because Pakistan will not survive another five years of PPP.
Imran Khan also talks of consensus but not construction. Even Musharraf had to make a hasty retreat when faced with a white wash for his party in Sindh. Benazir has not only turned her own people against Kalabagh dam with her unprincipled somersaults but has also made it impossible for any other party even to talk about it being essential for the country, leave alone build it. If I was an orthodox Muslim I would say God will punish her for stabbing the country in the back, but alas even that consolation is not available to me.
