A FORMER high-ranking officer of Azad Kashmir has given interesting details of how resistance to Mangla Dam, work on which started in late 1960 following the signing of the tripartite Indus Waters Treaty, was launched and how over time it fizzled out. According to him, local landlords, farmers, political workers and even some senior functionaries of the AJK Government formed a block to stop construction of the Mangla Dam declaring that the Dam would be built over their dead bodies. Their opposition to the dam was based essentially on sentimental grounds. He recalls that as Deputy Commissioner of Mirpur he ordered arrest of scores of protesting students. They were soon released but a few years later the detainees used their arrest warrants to seek political asylum in Britain and other European countries. The same young men have since built business empires in U.K. and elsewhere in Europe and they say that the fallout of their movement against Mangla Dam was in the shape of their affluence.
The authorities proceeded with the construction work through American contractors and soon the critics began to realize that the Dam was not only vital for agriculture and well-being of the of the country but would generate much-needed electricity at economical rates for consumption in their homes and industry. The displaced land -owners whose property, eventually submerged by the lake, had very little value got them adequate compensation in cash and alternate agricultural lands in the Punjab and Sindh. He recalls that Mirpur district farmers were generally very poor and cash of even a few hundred in hand was considered a fortune. However, Mangla Dam Rehabilitation Organisation provided compensation in cash for their acquired property which amounted to an average of Rs.5, 000. At that time labour was still needed for industry and business in Europe including the United Kingdom. As we were in Commonwealth no visa was required to go to Britain for work. It cost an intending immigrant just around Rs. 4,000% per person to be able to seek entry to U.K. for work. Tens of thousands thus migrated to Britain and other countries in Europe. The descendents of Mangla affectees are today the backbone of our economy. The affluence has spread to the remotest corners of Mirpur and adjoining Districts. Mirpur which was a sleepy village has grown into a beautiful town with luxurious buildings all around. Those who preferred to do agriculture in their new homes in Sindh and Punjab are now rich and influential Zamindars.
The grounds of opposition to the proposed Kalabagh Dam vary from province to province. But no one contests that Pakistan should build more big dams. Some suggest a new location in lieu of Kalabagh Dam least realizing that not only Kalabagh but Pakistan desperately requires to have more water reservoirs. Work on Kalabagh Dam could start in a few months but suitability of new sites shall take years to be established. Kalabagh Dam is the need of the hour but we believe that opinion of a cross-section of the masses has to be ascertained in the light of which it will be a lot easier to take a decision on the big dam issue. The Daily Mail is conducting a poll in this regard and the results will be compiled shortly. Meanwhile, the President will be soon completing his meetings with the elected representatives and it is expected that the ultimate decision will be guided by supreme interests of the nation. In a democratic set up the will of the majority must prevail. Federal Information Minister told newsmen in Rawalpindi on Friday that the President will soon announce a decision on Kalabagh Dam. He should do it quickly as all could not be brought on board. There are critics and the opposition to the dam will continue from some quarters.

Chinese are coming

IN THE new world order, as the US sees and perceives it, there are no permanent foes or friends. Geopolitical situations, strategic interests and the country’s economic requirements dictate the laws of the game. China seems to have realised this diplomatic truth better than the US and is using it to its full advantage in a continent which gets more attention for its poverty, famine and disasters than any other development at a global level. True to its aspirations to become a superpower and a global player, Beijing has started wooing African countries — in a subtle way, Oriental style. China trains diplomats from Africa and other developing countries in a three-month all expenses paid course during which veterans in foreign affairs give the invitees lessons in the changing global political scene. It sounds simple but the underlying fact is Beijing is trying to explain to the Third World through classroom lectures what its stand is on global happenings and its own perspective, or interpretation, of events that impact on other countries. Which means Washington can’t sell its ideas lock, stock and barrel and impose its will on a region traditionally considered backward and underdeveloped.
Communist China has had tremendous ideological influence on Asia and Africa before it turned capitalist. It is exporting skilled manpower now instead of revolutionary thoughts and building bridges of friendship through increased aid and transfer of technical know-how to endear the often-neglected countries and their people. The strategy is paying rich dividends to a country that is developing at breakneck speed to reach its short-term goals and meet its long-term needs by way of new export markets and to clinch major oil and gas deals in mineral-rich Africa. More important than commercial and economic gains is the backing Beijing gets, or is getting, at international forums during crucial voting for the stand it takes, obviously against Washington. There is an important lesson and Eastern wisdom in the Chinese exercise. You can win friends provided the tactics you adopt are persuasive and trustworthy, however slow they are. Sabre-rattling and bullying diplomacy are prescriptions for keeping friends and allies at bay.

—Khaleej Times