Political parties oppose Kalabagh dam,accuse Punjab of stealing water

SUKKUR: There is need to highlight the Kashmir dispute at the world level because of its importance for the very existence of Pakistan.

Amir Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) Sindh and President Sindh Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) MNA Maulana Asadullah Bhutto said while speaking at a seminar on “Sindh’s Water and Kashmir Dispute”, held at the Jacobabad Press Club on Sunday.

He said Kashmir remained a part of old Sindh. He said the peasants of Sindh are facing a severe shortage of irrigation water, which is as important a dispute for the life of Sindh as the Kashmir dispute is for Pakistan.

The MMA leader alleged that the present rulers failed to resolve the water dispute of Sindh, where the condition of agricultural lands is deteriorating with every passing day mainly due to the non-availability of water. He said General Pervez Musharraf has emphasised the need for the construction of the Kalagagh dam against the wishes of the people of Sindh, who do not want its construction. He said it would endanger the solidarity and strength of the country if the dam was built “at gunpoint”.

The JI leader alleged that Punjab had no option but to steal Sindh’s water from the Indus river because the rivers of Punjab were sold out to India during the military rule of Ayub Khan. “Now the people of Sindh are awake and are fully aware of their rights and will not allow this to go on at any cost. They will not allow converting their lands into wasteland and will not be ready to face draught.”

Other speakers at the seminar included District JI Amir Jacobabad Imdadullah Bachani, Abdul Jabbar Advocate, President Bar Association Haji Anwar Jakhrani, Haji Ghulam Nabi Rind of the Mazdoor Shehri Ittehad, Nadeem Qureshi of the PPP-SB, Ali Muhammad Lashari of the Taraqqi Pasand Party, Abdul Sattar Brohi of the Pakistan People’s Party, Mir Raja Jakhrani of the MMA.

They highlighted the shortage of irrigation water in Sindh and criticised the government’s Kashmir policy, which, according them, was against the will of the Kashmiris. The Kashmir dispute should be resolved in accordance with the UN resolutions, they stressed. They said theft of Sindh’s water would not be allowed anymore. The leaders of different social, political and religious parties also participated in the seminar.