MUZAFFARABAD: Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) President Sardar Masood Khan on Thursday said while there was no ambiguity among the citizens about environmental problems caused by some hydropower projects, the government was not negligent either in getting these issues addressed.

In fact, the first letter Prime Minister Raja Farooq Haider had written to the PTI-led federal government shortly after its inception was about the same issues, said the president in his address as chief guest to the Central Bar Association, Muzaffarabad.

He said the federal government had dispatched a commission of experts to AJK at the latter’s request to assess the environmental hazards and other problems spawned by the Neelum Jhelum Hydropower Project (NJHP).

President acknowledges that the entire AJK population was concerned about the environmental issues NJHP poses

The commission had prepared its report, and another commission was scheduled to visit Muzaffarabad to hold talks with the government for redress.

The president acknowledged that the entire AJK population was concerned about the environmental issues that people of Muzaffarabad were facing after the commissioning of NJHP.

“But let me tell you serious efforts are also being made to address these issues,” he maintained.

“Our viewpoint is crystal clear that River Neelum should always have 20 cumecs of water [downstream Nauseri] and that not only the environmental impact studies of all hydropower projects, including Kohala project, should be conducted but also written agreements with the AJK government should be inked before the groundbreaking ceremonies,” he added.

He said he also stood for other demands such as installation of sewer treatment plants and augmentation of the capacity of Great Water Supply Scheme Makri to meet the drinking water needs of Muzaffarabad.

Mr Khan said several delegations had also met him with a demand that excavation of a tunnel for the Kohala project should be avoided to stay away from the same kind of environmental issues that had emerged after tunnelling for the NJHP.

About the situation in India-held Kashmir, the president said over 500,000 Kashmiris had laid down their lives for the right to self-determination since 1947, which would not go in vain.

“Allah willing, the day is not far when our oppressed brethren across the bloody ceasefire line would witness the dawn of freedom.”

The president said though there had been a winsome change with regard to Kashmir in many parts of the world that civil societies, media and human rights watchdogs were openly talking about Indian bestiality unfortunately the governments of some powerful nations were keeping mum about it for their political and economic interests.

“We have to work harder than ever to break this silence.”

He termed bilateral talks with India a futile exercise and said dialogue should always be tripartite because Kashmir issue had three parties and of them the Kashmiris were the principal party.

He urged lawyers to make all bar associations of Pakistan active on Kashmir issue.

“Apart from discussing the situation in India held Kashmir in internal meetings, lawyers should also highlight Indian atrocities through social networking and microblogging sites,” he said.

He said lawyers should also play a proactive role to ensure rule of law in the country coupled with provision of speedy justice to the citizens.

He said AJK had got four projects under CPEC and of them one in energy sector had been completed while the remaining three were yet to be initiated.

Earlier, Central Bar Association President Maqboolur Rehman Abbasi, AJK Bar Council vice Chairman Chaudhry Shoukat Aziz, senior lawyer Raja Amjad Ali Khan and others also spoke.

Published in Dawn, January 18th, 2019