Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday stressed on the need to achieve national consensus on water, as he urged relevant authorities to expedite construction of the Bhasha Dam.
Addressing a jirga at the Peshawar Corps Headquarters, he emphasized that the country needs tough decision-making for development and prosperity. Noting that India had recently threatened Pakistan’s waters by unilaterally and illegally holding in abeyance the Indus Waters Treaty, he said India had gotten a “taste of its own medicine” with Pakistan’s retaliation to its aggression.
Emphasizing that this required consensus within Pakistan on how to utilize its waters, he said the federal government would soon invite provinces to discuss how to increase the country’s water storage capacity.
During his speech, the prime minister noted that Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Khan Gandapur had raised the issue of the National Finance Commission (NFC) with him, adding the next meeting of the NFC would be convened in August. Under the 1 percent of the divisible pool, he explained, KP had received Rs. 700 billion from all other provinces to boost its law enforcement capacity against terrorism. This, he vowed, would continue until the elimination of terrorism.
Sharif assured the Jirga he would form a committee to meet with tribal elders, the KP governor, and the chief minister to discuss the issues raised by Gandapur and draft recommendations. He said that the federal government would take the same to Parliament.
Gandapur’s Appeal
A statement issued by the KP Chief Minister’s House said Gandapur had urged the federal government against imposing taxes on the erstwhile FATA and PATA regions, claiming the local population lacks the financial resources to bear the burden. “These areas have been severely affected by the war on terror and require significant investment,” he said, adding the federal government should fulfil its promises to the region. He demanded immediate release of compensation funds for displaced persons from these regions and called for an end to drone strikes in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.
The chief minister also demanded the immediate inclusion of the merged districts’ share in the NFC Award and reiterated his demand for the release of pending dues owed to his province.