ISLAMABAD, 31 December 2005 — President Gen. Pervez Musharraf expressed his determination to construct two big dams in Pakistan — one at Sakardu-Bhasha and the other the Kalabagh Dam which has triggered off a nationwide controversy, and for and against public rallies.
Musharraf, addressing a public meeting at Mandi Bahauddin, about 150 kilometers southeast of Islamabad, said, “We have to make firm decisions at present. We need big reservoirs and my government is determined to go for at least two big dams.”
He further said, “Previous governments were weak governments. They could not take bold decisions. I am convinced that for our future needs of water and thermal power, we will have to have more water reservoirs. It’s high time we take proper decisions.”
Musharraf said, “I will convince smaller provinces to take serious view of the deteriorating water supply situation. Ours is an agro-based economy. We cannot afford to waster our water. We have to enhance water storage capacity.”
In another development, Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz has said that the government would provide all resources to make the defense of the country impregnable so that no one could cast an evil eye on the country.
He was addressing a function held to celebrate the 99th anniversary of the Muslim League at the PML Central Secretariat here yesterday evening.
Avalanche Kills 24
An avalanche in northwestern Pakistan caused by an earthquake aftershock has killed 24 people, police said yesterday.
Those killed in Wednesday’s avalanche were villagers who had been digging for gemstones on a remote mountainside in Kohistan, a district of North West Frontier Province.
“All of them were buried,” police officer Azhar Nawaz told Reuters. Nawaz said provincial authorities believed the avalanche had been caused by aftershocks in the area, which is about 250 km north of Islamabad.
“It has been hit by several aftershocks in the past week and there was one on the day of the avalanche,” he said.
