HYDERABAD, Feb 12: Sindh Population Welfare Minister Imtiaz Ahmad Shaikh has said the technical committee on Kalabagh dam and greater Thal canal projects has started its study and added that he will keep raising voice for a consensus among the provinces on the issue.

Talking to journalists at the residence of Mir Sher Mohammad in Latifabad here on Thursday, he maintained that he would not budge on the issue. He said the technical committee would meet stakeholders in respect of the water projects and added that the committee was headed by a respectable man, A. N. G. Abbasi, whom the people of Sindh also trusted.

The minister further said he had been raising voice for the rights of Sindh and its people and added that he had informed President Gen Pervez Musharraf about reservations of the people of the province regarding the water projects.

He observed that the president had made it clear that Sindh's interests would be safeguarded and a consensus would be evolved among the provinces on the projects.

Mr Shaikh said the People's Party Parliamentarians was now staging rallies against the Thal canal but funds for the project were allocated during its regime and work on the canal continued.

When asked whether work on the canal was still going on, he said he would continue to raise his voice in this regard. He said recommendations of the technical committee would also be given due weight.

Referring to tribal norms and culture prevailing in interior Sindh, the minister maintained that Sindh needed change in its society. He said the change could only be brought about in the society through awareness and education.

He said legislation against social evils like honour killing was necessary but it would take time to wipe out these evils. About the Hudood Ordinance, the minister said it needed to be reviewed in view of recommendations of the national commission on the status of women.

He proposed that the ordinance should be brought in accordance with teachings of Quran and Sunnah and Ulema should be consulted in this regard. The issue should also be discussed in the National Assembly to ensure that women's rights were protected. Islam did not permit any discrimination against women, he observed and criticized vested interests for working against women's interests.

Answering a question about reservations of Sindh over its allocation in the National Finance Commission award, the minister said they had been given to understand at a cabinet meeting that Sindh would get an increased share when compared to its present allocation. He avoided disclosing details of the NFC award to be given to Sindh.

He said differences with the Sindh chief minister had been discussed with party president Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain and Prime Minister Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali. He said things would improve.

About Shaista Almani, he said she and her sister had given joining reports in his department, adding that Mrs Almani had requested for a rental place for accommodation.

He said Mrs Almani had suffered miseries after she decided to go against wishes of her parents. He further said her case had left a lesson for youths and their parents to learn.

ACRs: DCO Mohammad Hussain Syed has directed the EDO education to authorize the incumbent district officer education to countersign the remaining annual confidential reports of women teachers whose promotions for selection grade have been withheld since 1983 for want of countersigning of ACRs.