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| November 4, 2001 | Sunday | Shaba’an 17, 1422 |
No deal with Wapda over Mangla: AJK pm
MUZAFFARABAD, Nov 3: AJK prime minister Sardar Sikandar Hayat Khan on Saturday said his government had not entered into any agreement with Wapda regarding the upraising of Mangla dam, and added that any decision on the issue would cover the interests of Azad Kashmir.
He said this at the floor of the AJK legislative assembly with a view to clarify the position of his government on the touchy issue that came up for discussion after ruling party MLA Chaudhry Tariq Farooq tabled an adjournment motion in this regard, which, however, was declared by speaker Sardar Siab Khalid as a call attention notice.
The mover stressed that the issue of Mangla dam’s upraising should be discussed in the house in detail, because it related to the rights of the people of Azad Kashmir. He said the federal government had held consultations with the AJK government and political parties in this regard, and, therefore, there was no harm to hold open discussion on the matter in the house, which was the representative forum of not only the people of Azad Kashmir but also of the occupied Kashmir.
Mr Farooq pointed out that some vested interests were exploiting the issue and thus creating unrest in Azad Kashmir, which consequently was serving the interests of the enemy.
He said the Kashmiris always wanted Pakistan to be stable, prosperous and economically self-reliant, but their wishes must be taken into account.
Minister for industries Chaudhry Masood Khalid, ruling party MLA Ms Nahid Tariq, opposition MLAs Sahibzada Ishaq Zafar, Chaudhry Pervez Ashraf and the leader of the opposition Barrister Sultan Mahmood also supported that the house should hold open discussion on the issue.
Barrister Sultan made it clear that his government had not accorded any approval for the execution of Wapda’s plan and asked the sitting government to clarify its position on the issue.
On the suggestion of Sahibzada Zafar, the speaker gave the floor to prime minister Sardar Sikandar Hayat to make an elaborate statement to remove misunderstandings regarding the stance of the sitting government on the issue.
He pointed out that Wapda had not honoured its previous commitments to the people and government of Azad Kashmir at the time of the construction of Mangla Dam.
Those who left their homes in 1960 to pave way for the construction of the dam could not take possession of the lands allotted to them in Punjab, he said. He added that there was no Dadyal and Islamgadh, despite the huge water reservoir in their area.
“I assure the people of Azad Kashmir in general and of Mirpur in particular that the interests of Azad Kashmir would be looked into first whenever any decision was taken,” he said.
The prime minister urged the legislators not to play up the issue.
Through a call attention notice, opposition MLA Sardar Ghulam Sadiq alleged that the government had abandoned a project initiated by the PP government for metalling of roads in the 28 constituencies located within Azad Kashmir.
The prime minister responded by saying that the project had not been dropped but phased out due to involvement of huge funds and the purpose was to carry on other projects of public utility simultaneously. He said he would ensure that at least one road was completed in every constituency in the ongoing financial year.
LEGISLATION: During the legislation business, the house unanimously referred 10 ordinances to respective select committees. The ordinances were:
- The Development Authority Muzaffarabad (Amendment) Ordinance, 2001;
- The Bagh Development Authority (Amendment) Ordinance, 2001;
- The Mirpur Development Authority (Amendment) Ordinance, 2001;
- The Kotli Development Authority (Amendment) Ordinance, 2001;
- The Pearl Development Authority (Amendment) Ordinance, 2001;
- The AJK Sales Tax (Tax on Service) Ordinance, 2001;
- The AJK Civil Servants (Amendment) Ordinance, 2001;
- The AJK Forest Regulation (Amendment) Ordinance, 2001;
- The AJK Civil Servants (Amendment) Ordinance, 2001; and
- The AJK (Adaptation of Pakistan Tobacco Board Ordinance 1968) Ordinance, 2001.
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