Vows resettlement of displaced communities if party forms government in Gilgit-Baltistan
DIAMER:
PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari on Wednesday called on the federal government to expedite the completion of the Diamer-Bhasha Dam and pledged to resolve the resettlement issues faced by communities displaced by the mega project if his party wins the June 7 elections.
The Bhutto scion is on a tour of Gilgit-Baltistan where PPP and other political parties have stepped up efforts in recent days to mobilise voters ahead of polls.
Addressing a public gathering in Diamer, Bilawal maintained that the project had progressed substantially under the PPP government. He maintained that Bhasha-Diamer Dam would already be operational had the government led by President Asif Ali Zardari remained in office beyond 2013.
Bilawal expressed regret that the resettlement concerns of people affected by the dam had yet to be resolved.
“I would like to promise you that after June 7 – when PPP forms government in G-B – we will ensure that the work is [completed] and as far as resettlement is concerned, we will address it on an immediate basis,” Bilawal said.
The construction of the Diamer-Bhasha Dam has affected thousands of people across several villages. Displaced residents demand that the federal government compensate them for the land they gave up for the dam’s construction.
In February last year, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif constituted a seven-member committee to review the protesters’ demands and address their grievances.
The PPP chairman urged the Centre to prioritise the construction of the dam. “This is not only the right of the people of Diamer, but it is a necessity for Pakistan,” he noted.
“No project is more important for Pakistan at the moment than the Diamer-Bhasha Dam,” Bilawal stressed, calling on the premier to expedite work on the project.
“We have heard of your ‘Shehbaz speed’ in Lahore [..] please show your ‘Shehbaz speed’ to the people of Diamer as well and ensure that the project is completed,” he quipped.
The Bhutto scion claimed that PPP was the “sole political party which was looking out for the interest of the people of G-B and had the people’s faith”. “On June 7, the people of G-B will demonstrate their power and elect a jiyala chief minister,” he said.
Recalling PPP’s contributions towards the region, Bilawal said it was his father, President Zardari, who “gave G-B its current identity as the region was referred to as Northern Areas before”.
Referring to the prevailing regional tensions, he said Pakistan needed a government “like PPP who can look the world in the eye”, adding that they were only able to do so as the party was the “true representative of the Pakistani people”. He reiterated his commitment for “securing G-B’s constitutional rights,” stressing that Islamabad must understand that “Pakistan can only prosper if the people of G-B prosper”.
He pledged that through the party’s public-private partnership initiatives, the region would not only meet its own energy needs but also supply electricity to other parts of the country.
“I am not here to air any grievances; it is not in our nature. Why was the Quaid-e-Awam (former prime minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto) hanged or why my mother (former prime minister Benazir Bhutto) was martyred [..] have you ever heard me complain? or why was my father was imprisoned for 14 years [..] we are not the kind to complain; we only know how to take back our rights. So support me, and I will not disappoint you,” Bilawal said while addressing the public gathering.
Taking a swipe at its coalition partner PML-N, the PPP chairman questioned why rival political parties campaigning in G-B appeared worried.
