CHARSADDA: Awami National Party president Asfandyar Wali Khan has said that nobody could dare build the controversial Kalabagh dam because it will drown our children and turn the land of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa infertile. He vowed that people would thwart all such moves with full force.

Responding to PML-Q leader Chaudhry Pervez Elahi’s assertion that building Kalabagh dam is essential to end energy crisis in the country, the ANP chief told a party rally held at Zafar Park here on Sunday that the project entailed destruction for the entire Pakhtun population and wouldn’t be allowed at any cost. The reservoir, he said, would submerge cultivable lands of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Also read: No Kalabagh dam without Sindh's consent, Imran promises Larkana

On this occasion, he also requested the centre and the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government to take pity on the displaced population of North Waziristan Agency as they had left their homes for the sake of peace in the country. He said that the government should help the displaced people in an apolitical way because they faced countless problems.

He also urged the government to ensure an early return of the displaced population to their native villages with complete relief package commensurate with their losses. He said that a jirga held in Islamabad the other day had pledged to make all endeavours to resolve the problems being faced by the displaced people.

Asfandyar says project to drown our children, render KP land infertile

Mr Asfandyar criticised Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf chairman Imran Khan for his failure to bring the change in the province which he had promised before the election, and said that the people in other provinces should observe his party’s performance before supporting him.

“We had served the displaced people from Malakand as well as from Federally Administered Tribal Areas when we ruled the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa,” he said. He said that Imran Khan’s demand for prime minister’s resignation over rigging charges was against the law of the country and his party would oppose any such attempt.

He also condemned that the provincial government for baton charge against displaced people and putting them behind bar and said that ANP would extend full assistance to the people living in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

The ANP will promote democracy in the country, he said, adding that they regarded parliament as genuine forum for solution of all problems. He also questioned the PTI-led government’s decision to submit a petition in the Supreme Court for getting rights from the centre.

Mr Asfandyar said that Pakhtuns were peaceful people as they had always struggled against violence and employed peaceful methods for resolution of their problems. However, he said that terrorism had been imposed on Pakhtuns by known elements due to which the world community was under misconception that Pakhtuns had a role in advancement of violence. He said that Pakhtuns were actually the worst victims of violence in the region. He said that ANP along with other parties would make it sure that displaced people were repatriated as soon as possible and provided better living conditions.

On this occasion, former IGP Zafarullah Khan and PPP district general secretary Naeem Khan Umerzai joined ANP. Party’s general secretary Mian Iftikhar Hussain and district president Arshad Abdullah also spoke on the occasion.

Published in Dawn, November 24th , 2014