No Kalabagh Dam sans consensus, says Pervez Khattak

NOWSHERA: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Pervez Khattak on Saturday said he had never supported the construction of the controversial Kalabagh dam.
“I always opposed the project and will do the same in future,” said the chief minister while talking to reporters here.
He said the opposition parties were attributing baseless remarks to him about the construction of the dam. “The project could not be materialised until consensus is developed among all the stakeholders,” he added.
Talking about the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) official stand on the constriction of the dam, he said the PTI wanted consensus among the federating units on the issue. “All the provinces to be taken into confidence on the project,” he added.
Pervez Khattak said if all the stakeholders developed consensus on the project then the PTI-led government would decide whether or not to support the project. He said he had issued the same statement in Lahore.
Criticising the federal government, the chief minister said the federation was usurping the rights of the smaller provinces.
He said the provincial government had identified 13 small dams to the federal government but the Centre didn’t consider the projects.
He said the construction of the small dams would not only help produce up to 13,000 megawatt power but also reduce the risk of floods in the province.
He accused the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government of diverting the resources of the country to Punjab and said it didn’t care for the development of the smaller federating units.
He urged Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to ensure equal distribution of development funds and other resources among all the provinces to remove the sense of deprivation among the people of neglected areas.
He said that as frontline province in war on terrorism the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa rendered matchless sacrifices and needed federal government’s special attention to revive the province’s damaged infrastructure and industry.