KARACHI, Dec 12: An all Pakistan water conference on Sunday rejected the Greater Thal Canal and Kalabagh Dam projects and said their execution would seriously undermine the integrity of the country.

The conference, sponsored by the Anti-greater Thal Canal and anti-Kalabagh Dam Committee, was presided over by Syed Qaim Ali Shah of the Pakistan People's Party and was attended by high powered delegations of the PPP, PML (N), ANP, Awami Tehrik, Sindh Taraqqi Pasand Party, Jamaat-i-Islami, JUI (F), Saraikistan National Movement, Saraiki National Party, Jamhoori Watan Party, Chamber of Agriculture and Khaksar Tehrik.

The participants unanimously rejected the government's policies of imposing what they called Punjab-specific projects on other federating units and undermining their constitutional rights.

The conference adopted a declaration which said that "illegal, unwise and anti-people plans" of the federal government and Wapda regarding the common waters and the Indus river system posed a grave threat to integrity and solidarity of the federation.

It resolved that the Constitution of Pakistan accorded special mention and enunciated provinces' right over water resources. International law about common water flowing through riparian provinces or states is also well developed, spelling out clearly that no plan can be legally implemented if it injuriously affects the interest of any riparian. It noted that Sharia also gave first right to the lower riparian over common waters.

"But against the constitution, international law and justice and in spite of the enormous opposition of the people of Sindh and their resolution of the assembly, the government of General Pervez Musharraf 'initiated the illegal, unconstitutional and immoral Greater Thal Canal Project that is designed to irrigate 2 million acres of Thal desert at the cost of equal, or more, fertile lands of Sindh".

The declaration noted that even as the construction of Greater That Canal continued round the clock, General Musharraf is preparing to announce yet another anti-people project of dam on River Indus at kalabagh and other places.

This project has the capacity of greatly harming the agriculture economy of Sindh and of turning the fertile districts of Mardan and Swabi into water logged marshlands. "The people of sindh, Pakhtoonkhwa, and Balochistan have totally rejected Kalabagh Dam and their elected Assemblies have unanimous passed resolutions many times against it".

The conference demanded that work on Greater Thal Canal be stopped immediately and no dam should be planned on Indus River and its tributaries till all riparian peoples and provinces agreed to such plans.

The conference warned international financial institution and donor agencies that the people of Pakistan would be well within their right to refuse to repay such loans as are obtained by the government for all water-related projects that did not have the sanction and approval of the people of the provinces of Pakistan.

Awami National Party's leader Asfandyar Wali warned the government to make a choice between the GTC and Kalabagh dam and the future of the federation. Mr. Siddique Al Farooq of the PML(N) said that his party was opposed to any project not agreed upon by the four federating units.

Leader of the opposition in Sindh Assembly Nisar Khuhro said the projects were violative of the constitutional guarantees. He said it was painful that the government in total disregard of the aspirations of the people of smaller province and resolutions adopted by their assemblies the rulers, had taken steps which were hitting at the very foundations of the federation.

Rasool Baksh Palejo of Awami Tehrik Dr. Qadir Magsi and Hameed Asghar Shaheen of Saraikistan National Movement made hard-hitting speeches against the controversial projects.