LHC stirs up hornet’s nest with ‘build Kalabagh dam’ order

The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Thursday ordered the federal government to construct Kalabagh Dam with immediate effect in accordance with the recommendations given by the Council of Common Interests (CCI) in year 1991, triggering explosive reactions from nationalist leaders in Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
The order was passed by Lahore High Court Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial during hearing of petitions calling for the construction of the dam.
The CJ directed the government to fulfill its responsibilities under Article 154 of the constitution. The court said the decision was given in light of the CCI’s orders of September 1991 and May 1998, adding that the government should do the needful to remove the apprehensions of stakeholders and build the dam.
The petitioners had submitted that failure to construct the dam would render the country’s agricultural land barren and the project was in interest of all provinces and objections were of a technical nature, which could be removed.
Backlash: However, nationalist voices – who have since long considered the dam contrary to the interests of the people in Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and a conspiracy by Punjab to control the country’s waterways – found a renewed impetus on Thursday to speak up against the “anti-Pakistan project”. Nationalists in Sindh said the construction of the dam could lead to territorial disintegration of Pakistan and Sindh might opt to quit the federation if so happened.
The Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Sindh, National People’s Party (NPP), Jeay Sindh Qaumi Mahaz (JSQM), Sindh National Party (SNP), Sindh Bachayo Committee (SBC) and Sindh National Movement (SNM) unanimously rejected the LHC verdict.
PPP’s Sindh Information Minister Sharjeel Memon said the PPP would not accept the “anti-Pakistan project at any cost”.
Memon said patriot forces in the ‘other’ three provinces had already rejected the dam. “Yet some political orphans are trying to politicise the project,” he claimed.
Sindhi nationalists: Reacting to the verdict, NPP leader Arif Mustafa Jatoi said the project would lead to the territorial division of the federation.
“Is a dam more important than the unity of the country?” Jatoi asked, adding that “we will never accept its construction”.
SNP Chairman Ameer Bhambhro said the “Punjab Court” [LHC] had given the verdict in favour of Punjab. “The whole nation would one day feel ashamed of the court’s decision on such a controversial issue,” he said.
Bhambhro said the project was being proposed to irrigate barren lands in Punjab, but the move would turn Sindh into a desert. JSQM Vice Chairman Dr Niaz Kalani said the people of Sindh would never accept the KBD and the LHC was no authority to order the federal government to construct the “dead” dam.
“Even a verdict from a religious entity cannot make the Sindhi people accept the construction of Kalabagh Dam,” Kalani said.
SBC Conveyer Syed Jalal Mehmood Shah said the ruling PPP was trying to divert the attention of nationalist and political parties from controversial issues like Zulfiqarabad project and dual local government system in Sindh.
SNM Chairman Ali Hassan Chandio alleged that the ruling PPP and the establishment were behind the decision, as they wanted to build the dam.
“The court of Punjab is bypassing the parliament,” he added.
Major players: Leading political parties also trod carefully after the verdict, with even the fearless PTI linking support for the decision to consensus among all stakeholders.
The PML-N said its stance was the same as before: no project should be initiated as long as federating units had objections to it.
Punjab CM Shahbaz Sharif said a decision on building Kalabagh Dam should be made in consensus with all four provinces.
The PPP Punjab also did not back the verdict, saying Kalabagh Dam was important, but “not as important as the country”.
The PML-Q said all opposing parties, especially nationalist voices in Sindh and KP, should understand that there was no alternative to Kalabagh Dam and it was essential for the country’s future.