PESHAWAR, Oct 9: The Pakistan People’s Party has said that the “resurrection” of the Kalabagh dam issue by the military rulers “is aimed at diverting people’s attention from the controversial Legal Framework Order.”

Welcoming the office-bearers of PPP (Sherpao), Shabqadar, who joined the PPP under the leadership of Farmanullah Khan here at the Peshawar Press Club on Thursday, PPP provincial chief Khwaja Mohammad Khan Hoti said his party would continue to struggle against the insertion of the LFO into the Constitution.

In the past, Mr Hoti said, his party had tabled a resolution against the construction of the Kalabagh dam in the NWFP assembly and termed it a dangerous move against the unity of the people and federation of the country.

The three smaller federating units were opposed to the construction of the dam and it was the duty of the federal government to respect their sentiments, he added.

He said the rulers had touched a dead issue only to get the controversial LFO passed from parliament, which was not ready to make the “Draconian laws” part of the Constitution.

Mr Hoti said neither the government had in its kitty the required funds nor had the World Bank agreed to finance the project. It was a considered move to deflect people’s attention from the “undemocratic” and “unilateral” measures of the government, he added.

He said the mass-contact drive, which had been decided by the Alliance for Restoration of Democracy, would be launched from the NWFP. A public meeting under the banner of the ARD would be held on Oct 24 in Peshawar to denounce the government’s “undemocratic moves”, Mr Hoti added.

The PPP’s provincial president said the Awami National Party would be welcome if it joined the ARD ranks for mounting a struggle to secure the people their rights.