ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, June 16 (UPI) -- A controversial Kalabagh dam project in Pakistan's Punjab province has ignited disputes in the National Assembly.
Punjabi supporters of the project won a shouting match in the chamber where tempers ran high, Dawn newspaper reported Wednesday.
While the Kalabagh dam project has been temporarily shelved project, the proposed massive multipurpose dam over the river Indus at Kalabagh in Punjab could continue to provoke political tensions in the assembly during the remainder of debate on the new budget unless the country's major parties decide to abstain from discussing the controversial issue for the present.
The Kalabagh dam project has been mired in controversy since its construction was broached five years ago by the administration of former Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, who announced that he would build the dam for the energy and security interests of Pakistan.
Two years ago Pakistan Federal Minister for Water and Power Raja Pervez Ashraf said that the "Kalabagh Dam would not be constructed" and was canceled, as due to the "opposition from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Sindh and other stakeholders, the project was no longer feasible."
