World Sindhi Institute condemns the Government of Pakistan  for persisting with decisions regarding the construction of further dams. The recent announcement regarding  Bhasha-Diamer Dam and the insistence  that even the Kalabagh Dam will be built later on , shows that Shaukat Aziz and Parvez Musharraf have no respect for the people of Pakistan.
 
The World Sindhi Institute would like to remind the Government of Pakistan that the nations of Pakistan are aware that the agenda for constructing the dams is  driven by foreign elements and their representatives in Pakistan. In other words, the imperative to build the dams emanates from International Finance Corporations and other foreign  corporations and governments who stand to benefit the most, and not by patriotic elements acting in the best interests of the nation.
 
The World Sindhi Institute has concluded that the interests of foreign corporations and foreign governments are well looked after by Mr Shaukat Aziz who not so long ago was himself an employee of Citibank. WSI has reasons to believe that general Parvez Musharraf and Shaukat Aziz  stand to gain personally as they promote  the agenda of the World Bank whose largest  shareholder is Germany.

In  a round table discussion organized by the Voice of America in Washington D.C. on the Dams issue, Ms Humaira Rahman explained that the  general public is being distracted and confused. She said the real issues are not whether the dams are technically feasible or not and neither is the issue to do with crucial economic growth needs or water conservation.
 
"Commissioning large dam contracts is in fact the agenda of the World Bank (that will increase its revenue from market rate interest) and its allies the Asian Development Bank and other commercial banks and western governments ; the largest share holder of the World Bank is Germany which  holds 46 % shares in the World Bank. Germany's economy is desperately in need of large projects to give impetus to its economy and contracts to its corporations ,consultants and contractors.”
 
Later speaking to other press representatives she said that Germany's corporate interests are well represented in Pakistan. Giving details she said that Siemens is a heavy engineering firm which will most likely design, procure and install most of the components of the hydro electrical capacity  of the dams. Interests of these foreign corporations are being looked after  by Senator Nisar Memon (past CEO of IBM) who is related to  Mr Farhat Ali,  CEO  of Asea Brown Boveri, a Swiss firm who also stands to gain substantial contracts from the Dam projects . Mr Sohail Wajahat Siddiqui  CEO Siemens Pakistan is very close to Shaukat Aziz and is an active lobbyist for Siemens the main beneficiary.
 
"The above gentleman do not represent Sindh's interests ; they merely represent their own interests and those of the  punjabi dominated (and urdu speaking) military and civil bureacracy" she said.
 
"If the dams are constructed these will suit already privileged individuals and regions and  challenge the fragile federal integrity of Pakistan; unfortunately private profit and interest has always dominated the political economy of the country  since 1947 .The ordinary masses are made to believe that these decisions are being taken in the best interests of Pakistan but in fact the decisions to construct dams suit the short sighted and narrow  self serving interest of the pakistani agents of  foreign corporations as well as the shareholders of the corporations themselves. Pakistan is being sold bit by bit to foreign concerns by these agents.”
 
Nisar Memon , Sohail Wajahat Siddiqui and  Farhat Ali are acting as agents of foreign interests and not as patriotic sindhis or even pakistanis. World Sindhi Institute would like to remind all three persons that they were  born, bred or raised in Sindh .In a direct appeal to them she said: “We call upon you  to remember that you  owe something to the soil of Sindh that  gave you   sustenance and education. Please do not go against Sindh's interests whilst favoring narrow corporate or your own private interests; in the short term you may gain she said, but eventually each one of us leaves this world  with nothing except our coffins; this is a historic moment it is upto you whether you want to act in the  best interest of Sindh or act in favour of foreign interests. Please know that you will be remembered by your actions, and  you are being watched by a generation of sindhis , whose life blood will be destroyed if the dams go ahead. Please tune in to your conscience and stop promoting your interests and act instead in the best interests of Sindh, the land that gave you and your families shelter and sustenance."
 
For more information, please call 202-223-1777 or email us at wsihq@worldsindhi.org. Visit www.worldsindhi.org for more information.

Sindhis of Sindh, in southeastern Pakistan.