KARACHI, Dec 27: President of the Pakistan Muslim League-N Mian Shahbaz Sharif has said that construction of no water reservoir, including the Kalabagh dam, should be started without the consensus of the four provinces. Addressing a telephonic press conference at the residence of Sardar Rahim here on Tuesday, Mr Sharif said that there was no confusion in the stand taken by the PML-N on the issue. Saleem Zia, Zain Ansari, Zahid Rafiq Butt and others were also present.

Mr Sharif said that Kalabagh dam was not an issue of Sindh, Punjab, Balochistan or the NWFP. This project related to entire Pakistan. Therefore, its feasibility report could only be implemented when Sindh and other three provinces gave their consent, he added.

He said that work of such projects, especially Kalabagh dam, should not be started without the consent of the people of all provinces.

He noted that wrong and confusing remarks had been attributed to him with regard to the Kalabagh dam project. Therefore, it had become necessary for him to explain his party’s stand on the issue in clear terms, i.e. “no dam without consensus”, he said. The government, he added, should consider alternatives.

PML-N General Secretary Iqbal Jhagra said that even if one province was against the KBD, it should not be built because no project was important than the country’s solidarity and integrity. He advised the government not to make it an issue of ego. He said that until the people of all four provinces supported the project, PML-N would not support it.

He alleged that by proposing controversial issues, the government was trying to create confusion and instability. But the PML-N would frustrate all designs against the people, he declared.

Sardar Rahim said that a military general had no right to decide about the future of the country in total disregard to the aspirations of the people. He said that the regime’s insistence on constructing the KBD was tantamount to breaking the country.