PESHAWAR, April 28: The Awami National Party (ANP) has advised Islamabad not to start a confrontation against Sindh and the NWFP by issuing what it called provocative statements on the controversial Kalabagh dam which, it said, had been rejected by people of three provinces through their elected assemblies.

Speaking at a news conference held at the Peshawar Press Club on Friday, ANP acting president Haji Ghulam Ahmed Bilour said that the government of General Pervez Musharraf had learnt nothing from the people’s verdict on Kalabagh dam. “It has become imperative for the political forces of three provinces to resist the authoritarian stance of Islamabad on this controversial issue,” Mr Bilour said.

ANP central vice-president Haji Mohammad Adeel, ANP provincial chief Bashir Ahmed Bilour, information secretary Zahid Khan and other local leaders were present on the occasion.

Mr Bilour pointed out that although the NWFP assembly had passed three unanimous resolutions against the construction of Kalabagh dam and the Sindh Assembly had adopted seven such resolutions against it, the present government was showing a strong disregard for the will of the people. The ANP leader reiterated his party’s old stand and said that it would “not allow anybody to make Pukhtuns and Sindhis scapegoats” and serve the interests of Punjab alone.

Some months ago, he said, political groups in the NWFP showed anger at the repeated statements of Gen Musharraf about the dam and blocked the Peshawar-Pindi Road for over eight hours. He said the blockade was “a clear message to the rulers to review their stance on the controversial issue” but conceded that they were still not ready to learn from history. “If the rulers are adamant about constructing it, we are determined not to allow them to do so,” he added.

If the Bhasha dam would have been constructed 25 years ago, he said, it would have brought prosperity to the agriculture and industrial sectors. “But the rulers had hoodwinked the people into thinking that it was not feasible.” He said now the same project had became feasible, because the present rulers were in favour of its construction.

Referring to military operations in parts of Balochistan and Waziristan, he said the daily killings on both sides (tribesmen and troops) were a national loss. “We are killing our own sons and brothers. The government should stop these operations forthwith,” he said.

The ANP leader said if the government can hold negotiations with India on crucial and touchy subjects, it should not be reluctant to hold talks with its own people in Balochistan and Waziristan. Mr Bilour said it would be better for the country “if troops are called back at the earliest possible date”.

About chief election commissioner’s appointment, he said it would be better if the government took opposition parties into confidence on his (CEC) nomination. He said: “If Pervez Musharraf holds free, fair and impartial polls and make peaceful transfer of power to the wining party, people will forget his wrongdoings and remember him for a long time”. He called for the honourable return of Benazir Bhutto, Nawaz Sharif and others to Pakistan.

He insisted that all politicians were not corrupt and it was the military rulers who had undertaken their media trial and brought disgrace upon them. He said politicians were replaced with bigots and zealots in the NWFP in the previous elections. He said the rulers themselves were promoting fundamentalism by harbouring religious forces in the country.