• Moonis asks PM to tell PTI ‘not to worry’
• Premier says hydropower generation could have saved country from price hikes triggered by global increase in fuel rates

ISLAMABAD: Emboldened by the reassurance extended by government ally Pakistan Muslim League (PML-Q), Prime Minister Imran Khan on Monday seemed unfazed by the goings-on in the opposition camp, particularly the latter’s threat to bring a no-trust move against the government.

Even as Imran Khan’s opponents scrambled to win over coalition partners of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) government, PML-Q leader Moonis Elahi’s pep talk seemed to calm the PM’s nerves, who later claimed that they were not worried or panicked by opposition overtures towards the no-trust move.

Addressing the International Symposium on Pakistan’s Hydropower Development in Global Perspective here on Monday, federal Minister for Water Resources Moonis Elahi, while directly addressing the premier who was also present at the event, said the PTI shouldn’t be concerned at the talks being held between his and other opposition parties. “The country’s political environment is a bit strange these days, [but] there is nothing [substantial] in it. It’s all a spectacle. We are political people and it’s our job to meet other politicians,” to which the PM responded with a smile.

“The important thing to understand is that political people form relationships and then see them through like we have formed a relationship with you (the PTI) and will see it through. So, it is my request that you tell the PTI firmly: ‘aap ne ghabrana nahi hai’ (you should not worry),” Dawn.com quoted Mr Elahi as saying while addressing the PM.

Later, in his address, PM Khan claimed the PTI government was not in panic, referring to the opposition’s plans to bring a no-confidence motion against him.

“We [PTI] are not in panic, but the opposition leaders, who suddenly remembered the ailing Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain after two decades, are now showing concern over his health,” the PM said. “I have trained the PTI in a way that they do not panic in any difficult situation.”

In a bid to woo his ally, Mr Khan praised PML-Q president Mr Hussain, saying he had unmatched political skills and that he fully trusted the Chaudhrys.

His comments came in the backdrop of PML-N president Shehbaz Sharif’s meeting on Sunday with the PML-Q chief for the first time in 14 years regarding the opposition alliance Pakistan Democratic Movement’s (PDM) plans to move a no-trust motion against the government in the coming days. PDM chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman had also reached out to the PML-Q on Saturday.

Furthermore, Mr Khan said the country was suffering from multiple problems due to a lack of planning by the previous regimes, adding the PTI government was not planning for the next elections, but to safeguard the future of the country.

He termed the construction of two major dams -- Mohmand and Diamer-Bhasha -- a “big achievement” of his government to overcome the water crisis and boost agriculture growth of the country. He also said the under-construction mega dams would double the water storage capacity and help address climate change-related issues. China had constructed 5,000 dams, but Pakistan had only two that were also built in the 1960s, he added.

“Due to this negligence, Pakistan suffered losses. Since Pakistan is using imported fuel for electricity generation, whenever petrol prices go up in the global market, power tariff also rises in Pakistan and the burden is passed on to the public,” he said. “If we had generated hydroelectricity, we would not have faced the price hikes triggered by an increase in fuel prices.”

Pakistan had great potential for hydroelectricity, but it was generating half of its power from oil, the PM said, adding that China was making rapid progress on the basis of its long-term planning.

“Today, we are celebrating the decade of dams. We need water storage,” he said while observing that there were water issues between the provinces.

“As our population is increasing, we have to cultivate more land. If there is no storage, how can we cultivate land? If we arrange water for land in Dera Ismail Khan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa will not need to get food or wheat from other provinces. Balochistan has millions of acres of uncultivated land and if we can arrange water for it, we can export cotton and other crops. Land is also available in Thar.”

PM Khan said the use of tunnel technology for dams was necessary in Pakistan, adding that the country’s mountains were incomparable and could help generate huge revenue through tourism. Switzerland had the best tunnel technology that made its mountains very accessible, he continued.

The prime minister also said the proposed Kalabagh Dam was located at a good site, but the people of Sindh would have to be convinced about the project otherwise anti-Pakistan forces would instigate them over water share.

“We have to scientifically explain to the people of Sindh that Kalabagh Dam will be beneficial for them. We are a federation and we should try to take the provinces with us.”

He appreciated Water and Power Development Authority Chairman retired Lt Gen Muzammil Hussain for his dedication to the construction of water reservoirs.

PTI CEC meeting

Presiding over a meeting of the PTI’s Central Executive Committee, the prime minister expressed satisfaction that all their allies were with them and the opposition’s efforts to gain their support will fail. He also expressed anger at the reports of first lady Bushra Bibi leaving the prime minister’s house.

Later, in a press conference, Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Farrukh Habib called out “certain quarters” for pushing “fake stories” about the first lady and asked them to avoid “cheap tactics such as dragging an apolitical woman into politics”.

The minister’s remarks came after a report published in a weekly newspaper last week suggested that the first lady was currently living at a friend’s place in Lahore after developing differences with the PM.

Mr Habib said the government was well aware of certain elements spreading frivolous stories about the premier’s wife, which had no factual or moral grounds. “These are the same people who had once indulged in the character assassination of Shaheed Bibi (late former prime minister Benazir Bhutto),” he remarked.

Without naming names, Habib asked those behind such stories to “refrain from dragging a non-political woman into politics for your ill ambitions”.

A day after the report was published on Friday, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister for Political Communication Dr Shahbaz Gill had also dispelled the impression that the first lady was living elsewhere and claimed she was at Bani Gala.

He had clarified in a tweet that Bushra Bibi visited Lahore just for a week last year and “has not been to the city for the last few months”. He rejected the report as baseless and said those spreading fake news will face legal action.

Meanwhile, amid a discord within the ruling PTI ranks over the rewarding of top ten ministries by the PM, the scheduled press conference of Special Assistant to the Prime Minister Arbab Shahzad on the matter was cancelled at the eleventh hour. The press conference was to be attended by the top ten ministers.

A source told Dawn that the event was cancelled on the directives of Prime Minister Imran Khan. They said the premier was of the view that the issue had already generated a controversy and the press conference could aggravate the bitterness.

Published in Dawn, February 15th, 2022