Kalabagh Dam cannot be made without consent of Sindh's people: PM Imran Khan

Islamabad: Prime Minister Imran Khan on Monday said that Pakistan is facing grave issues because the previous governments did not focus on constructing dams in the country, adding that the Kalabagh Dam cannot be made until the consent of the people of Sindh.

While speaking at the High Tech International Symposium on Hydropower in Islamabad, the premier said that the electricity prices would not have increased if we had made dams in the past. "Hike in electricity prices causes rise in commodity prices", he continued to say.

PM Imran Khan said that China has around five thousand major dams whereas Pakistan has only two.

Unfortunately, it is because of a lack of long-term planning, we are where we are. China’s strength is its long-term planning. PTI government rather than looking at elections focused on long-term growth, the premier asserted. 

PM Imran Khan further explained that half of our power is produced through oil so a surge in global oil price also affects us. This negligence has cost the country especially in terms of power price. When you make electricity from imported fuel. Our inflation is directly now linked with global prices. Had we made a hydroelectric system, we would have not been facing the inflation we are facing.

The premier said that the Kalabagh Dam cannot be made until the consent of the people of Sindh. “The anti-Pakistan forces will take that as an opportunity to create a disturbance,” PM Imran Khan concluded.