PESHAWAR: As India`s move to place the Indus Waters Treaty into abeyance puts Pakistan`s water security in peril, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday asked authorities to speed up construction of the Bhasha Dam, while also hinting at inter-provincial consultations to increase the country`s storage capacity.

The premier made these remarks while addressing a jirga at the Corps Headquarters Peshawar, in which he stressed theneed for tough decisions for the development and prosperity of the country.

PM Shehbaz, while talking about the hostile measures taken by the Modi government, said that under the Indus Waters Treaty, every drop of water was the right of the Pakistani people. He said that India had tasted its own medicine after attacking Pakistan and would be taughtalessonifitattacked again.However, the country needs to make a decision on water, he said, adding, `We will invite provinces to discuss how to increase the country`s water storage capacity to defeat India`s nefarious designs.` The PM said Pakistan was building Diamer-Bhasha Dam and other reservoirs to store water, adding that there was a need to take well-considered decisions soon in this regard.

The premier said that KP Chief Minister Ali Amin Khan Gandapur, in his speech, took up the National Finance Commission (NFC) Award issue, saying the last award was announced in 2010.

The premier said that when this issue was taken up in a meeting in Islamabad some time ago, he had formed a committee in this regard. `I have been told this that the provinces have given their names to represent them and the NFC meeting would be convened in August, the premier said.

He said that under the 1 per cent of the divisible pool, which KP is getting for fighting the war against terrorism, Rs700 billion has been provided to the province to boost its law enforcement capacity, set up a Counter-Terrorism Department, and the safe city projects. He said that KP would continue to receive this fund till the elimination of terrorism.

The premier said that he would form another committee, which would meet the tribal elders, the KP governor, and the chief minister to discuss the issues raised by CM Gandapur to draft recommendations. He said that the federal government would also take the same to parliament.

`Don`t tax ex-Fata` A statement issued from the KP Chief Minister`s House said that the CM urged the federal government not to impose taxes on the erstwhile Fata and Pata regions, arguing that the local population was not financially capable of bearing such burdens. `These areas have been severely affected by the war on terror and require significant investment,` he stressed.

The CM asked the federal government to fulfil all promises made to the ex-Fata people. He demanded immediate release of compensation funds for displaced persons from these regions and called for an end to drone strikes in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, citing civilian casualties.

He also demanded the immediate inclusion of the merged districts` share in the National Finance Commission (NFC) award. `We are not asking for another province`s share-we`re demanding our rightful due,` he said.

The CM also urged the federal government to release all pending dues owed to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa,including net hydel profits and the province`s full share in the tobacco cess.

In his address, the CM urged the reinstatement of the traditional jirga system to sustainably resolve disputes in the merged districts. He also demanded KP`s inclusion in peace talks with neighbouring Afghanistan, warning that excluding the province would render the negotiations incomplete.

Bhasha dam meeting In a separate meeting on the Bhasha dam, the PM asked the authorities to remove hurdles in the completion of the Diamer-Bhasha Dam, saying that the country`s selfreliance was linked to affordable electricity and agriculture. `The country`s self-dependence is linked with affordable electricity and agriculture, which requires increased water storage and efficient water usage,` the PM was quoted as saying in a press release issued by the Prime Minister`s Office (PMO).

The prime minister directed prioritising the completion of projects like Diamer-Bhasha Dam to establish an effective system for energy production and abundant water storage.

It may be noted that the energyand the water sectors will face significant cuts in the development budget, after the government planned to reduce the energy sector`s allocations to Rs144bn from Rs169bn this year, while slashing the water sector allocation to Rs109bn from Rs135bn this year.

Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal had said that until 2018, the estimated construction cost of the dam was Rs479bn, and Rs120bn had already been spent on land acquisition. However, the project cost increased significantly due to delays and unnecessary postponements during the previous government.

He suggested the dam and power projects be separated and the financing of the power project be obtained from the private sector.

He further said that even after six years, the revised PC-1 of the project still had not been prepared.

He also said the future projects would be completed under the public-private partnership model to avoid delays in funding and completion. Diamer-Bhasha Dam will provide storage of 6.4 million acre-feet of water.

Syed Irfan Raza in Islamabad also contributed to this report