ISLAMABAD, Jan 14: President General Pervez Musharraf on Friday directed the Technical Committee on Water Resources (TCWR) to submit its report soon after Eid-ul-Azha after addressing the remaining issues of water needs assessment and construction of new dams.

An official announcement said the president emphasized upon the committee to "address the remaining issues and finalize its deliberations in its final meeting to be held soon after Eid-ul-Azha and submit its report soon thereafter".

He issued these directives at a briefing given to him by the TCWR chairman, A.N.G. Abbasi, and other members at the Aiwan-i-Sadr. The president was "pleased to note" that there was a complete consensus in the committee on conserving and creating additional storage capacities to meet the growing needs for water, both for agricultural and non-agricultural uses.

The chairman and members of the technical committee briefed the president individually about their deliberations and the conclusive stage of their work. They informed the president that the committee had been in session in Islamabad for the last three days during which final representations to it had been made.

The president praised what he called the "excellent work" done by the committee. The TCWR was constituted on November 15, 2003, and tasked to submit its report within six months. However, the period of submission of report was extended by another six months, a statement issued by the Aiwan-i-Sadr said.

In addition to chairman and members of the committee, the briefing was attended by water and power minister and the deputy chairman of the Planning Commission.