PESHAWAR, Sept 10: The Awami National Party (ANP) has asked Federal Minister for Water and Power Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao to resign from his office in order to justify his earlier stand against the construction of the controversial Kalabagh dam.
“If Mr Sherpao has any respect for his earlier stance against the execution of the Kalabagh dam project, he should resign from his office,” said the ANP chief Asfandyar Wali while addressing a public meeting at Badhber on the outskirts of Peshawar on Tuesday.
The meeting attended by party workers was organized as part of the ANP’s recently launched anti-Kalabagh dam campaign. Apart from Mr Asfandyar Wali, the ANP’s provincial chief Begum Nasim Wali Khan and general-secretary Farid Toofan also addressed the meeting.
Speaking on the occasion, the ANP chief focused his speech on the controversial project and its negative impact on the NWFP.
He referred to Mr Sherpao’s recently issued statement in which he said that the project would be executed after developing a consensus on the matter.
“When Mr Sherpao was not a federal minister he was against the construction of the dam, and now he is talking of having a consensus on the issue,” remarked the ANP chief.
He warned that the Kalab-agh dam and the Centre could not go together after three of the four provinces had given their decision against the construction of the Kalabagh dam.
By issuing statement in support of the dam, said the ANP chief, President Pervez Musha-rraf had established that he was only concerned about Punjab and had no interest in smaller provinces.
Mr Asfandyar said, by choosing to support the project, President Musharraf had acted in a way as if he only represented Punjab and was not bothered about the interest of other federating units.
Terming it a question of safeguarding the rights and land of Pukhtuns, he said the ANP would not compromise on its stand and would never allow the execution of the project.
He assured his party supporters that he would not desist from offering any sacrifice to safeguard the rights of Pukhtun people. Without taking any names he said he would not ask others to fight for a common cause and would himself wage a war to protect the rights of the province.
The ANP’s provincial president Nasim Wali said the people of the NWFP were being hoodwinked into believing that southern parts of the province would benefit from the construction of the Kalabagh dam.