KARACHI: PTI Chairman Imran Khan on Friday promised thousands of supporters in Larkana that his party will not allow the construction of the controversial Kalabagh dam without the consent of the people of Sindh.

“People of Larkana, I assure you: as long as the people of Sindh do not decide that if the dam is constructed their water will not be stolen, (Kalabagh) dam will not be constructed,” he told a large crowd of party members and supporters who had turned up to listen to the cricketer-turned-politician at a public meeting in Ali Abad village of Bakrani taluka.

The construction of the Kalabagh dam has long been a heated debate in Pakistan, where politicians and pressure groups argue over the provinces' fair share of water from the river Indus to support local agricultural needs.

“I know that the people of Sindh believe that if Kalabagh dam is constructed, their share of the water will be stolen by other provinces. There will be no Kalabagh dam until the people of Sindh themselves do not agree to it,” Imran told the people of Larkana.

“We will not let down the people of Sindh. Without their consensus, there will be no construction of any form of water reservoir,” he said.

Political observers had been eagerly waiting to listen to the PTI’s policy on a number of issues relating to Sindh, such as the Kalabagh dam, NFC award and the issue of carving out new province from Sindh.

'Will not allow division of Sindh'

Imran also vowed that his party will not allow ‘the division of Sindh’ at any cost. “We will not allow Sindh to be broken up at any cost,” he said.

The PTI leader focused the majority of the rest of his speech on the criticism of the PPP’s shortfalls in terms of delivery to the people of Sindh, and the poor governance and alleged corruption of the Sharifs and the Zardari family.

“Every citizen has the right to justice. People of Larkana! Tell me, do you get justice in jails? Do you get healthcare in hospitals? Do you get employment? Is there merit? No! I will tell you that 6 million children in Sindh are out of schools. Do your children get adequate education?” he asked supporters.

“Are human beings kept this way? Without basic rights, do you govern citizens or slaves? The PPP has taken six turns here. If things have not changed in six turns (of the PPP), will they change now?” he said.

“Tell me how many people of the Zardari family have taken influential posts? As many as those from the Sharif family,” he asked the crowd. “Is this democracy? Does democracy allow Imran Khan to make his son the party chairman?”

“I have come here to wake the people of Sindh. The people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab have awoken, it is time for the people of Sindh to wake up,” he said.

Imran Khan addressing supporters in Larkana.

Camps of the PTI were established in Larkana city and along the airport road leading to the public meeting venue and party songs were being played at the camps.

Earlier, senior party leader Shah Mehmood Qureshi also addressed the crowd.

“Nisar Khuhro! Imran Khan and the PTI do not need your certificate to express our love to Sindhis,” senior leader Shah Mehmood Qureshi told a crowd of thousands as the PTI chairman took his seat on stage.

Qureshi focused his address on criticism of senior PPP leader Khuhro, who earlier this week made a fiery speech on the floor of the Sindh Assembly in protest of Imran allegedly calling the people of Sindh slaves.

“Nisar Khuhro of Larkana! The people of Larkana have rejected your resolution. We do not need an NoC or visa from you to come to Larkana,” he said.

Also read: 6 issues Imran Khan must address at the Larkana rally

Today’s public meeting was fundamentally aimed at mustering support for PTI from the rural areas of Sindh.

Imran has said he is going to challenge PPP Co-Chairman Asif Ali Zardari, saying it was the sixth term of the PPP government in Sindh and alleged that its leaders had become billionaires by using Zulfikar Ali Bhutto’s name.

He has also said that there was no doubt that the late Bhutto was a great leader who had raised the slogan of ‘roti, kapra aur makan’ for poor people and struggled for their rights, but unfortunately his dreams remained unfulfilled.

Imran has claimed that his party would complete this ‘unfinished’ agenda and empower the Sindhi people.

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