March, 23 2005	Wednesday	12 Safar 1426

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HARIPUR, March 22: President of the National Awami Party Pakistan (NAPP) Arbab Ayub Jan has said that his party would support the Kalabagh dam project if apprehensions of the people of NWFP and Sindh were removed. He was talking to journalists at the residence of PPP leader Sardar Abdul Rauf Khan here on Monday evening.

NWFP Assembly’s former speaker Habibullah Khan Tareen, former MNA Arbab Saadullah Jan and Karak district nazim Sharif Khattak were present on the occasion.

He said that the government must allay the misgivings of the people of Sindh and Frontier provinces before initiating work on the project.

He said that the construction of the dam would bring about prosperity and create job for the people of the province where only 40 per cent land was under cultivation. About 60 per cent of the total arable land of the province was lying barren, he said.

Replying to a question, he said that his party would support this project if the people of two provinces were taken into confidence. The NAPP leader also suggested changes in the dam’s design for sustainability of the project, adding that under the proposed design the dam would silt up in four to five years. He said that two canals must be included in the project design from the Kabul river.

About Benazir Bhutto, he said that Gen Pervez Musharraf must invite her to join the present set-up as her party had bagged the highest number of votes during the last general election. He also supported President Musharraf’s Kashmir policy, adding that the issue must be resolved through peaceful dialogue.