ISLAMABAD, Dec 23: Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz on Friday said that the country had to build big water reservoirs because doing nothing was no more an option when a dangerous water crisis was looming.

Talking to journalists at the Prime Minister’s House after attending a Christmas ceremony, he expressed the hope that differences on the issue would be resolved through the ongoing process of consultation with a cross section of people.

The prime minister rejected reports that a military operation was under way in Balochistan and said law-enforcement agencies were taking action only against violators of law and opponents of development.

About the proposed All Parties’ Conference on the issue, he said: “We are contacting and holding informal consultations with politicians and hopefully the conference will be organized in a few weeks.”

Asked if there was a deadline for an announcement about the Kalabagh dam, he said: “We have started the process which will certainly culminate in a decision.”

He said all efforts in this regard were aimed at creating consensus but if this was not possible the majority’s opinion would prevail in the interest of the country.

When his attention was drawn to the opposition to the project by the Muttahida Qaumi Movement and Sindh Chief Minister Arbab Ghulam Rahim, the prime minister said that difference of opinion was normal in a democratic system.

“Everyone has his own feelings and every right to express those. The government is ready to provide full opportunity to every stakeholder to speak for or against the plans so that a positive result comes out”.

He said the country could not afford to live without increasing its water resources, which were vital for agriculture, and these realities needed to be explained to the opponents of the Kalabagh dam. He said the country’s prosperity was linked to agriculture, which could not flourish and survive without enhancement of water storage. He said the country’s land would become barren if more water reservoirs were not built.

The prime minister said the cabinet would meet on Wednesday to discuss and study reports of the technical and parliamentary committees on the issue before making them public and presenting them in parliament. In reply to a question, he said the government was ready to ensure construction of additional water channels for agriculturists who feared that their water supply would be affected if the dam was built.

About the situation in Balochistan, the prime minister said some forces did not want development of the province but the government was determined to complete the large projects initiated over the past six years.

Earlier, the prime minister cut a Christmas cake. Pakistan Muslim League president Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain and secretary-general Mushahid Hussain Syed, MNA Akram Masih Gill, representatives of the Christian community and diplomats from Germany, Bosnia, China, India, the United Kingdom, Sri Lanka and other countries were present.

A delegation of 13 doctors from Bosnia, who had returned from areas affected by the October earthquake, also called on the prime minister.