by Ahmad Rafay Alam
The writer is an advocate of the high court and a member of the adjunct faculty at LUMS
The word “riparian” has been appearing in the media far too frequently for my liking. It’s usually preceded by the adjective “lower” and usually followed by an irrational rant about how the “upper riparian” is taking advantage. This is unsettling because, as one knows, when the word “riparian” becomes part of one’s day-to-day vocabulary, it means water has become a major issue. And it should be. As has been foretold, …

ISLAMABAD: Adviser to the Prime Minister on Water Kamal Majidullah on Friday shocked the authorities concerned and development planners when he vehemently opposed the construction of $11.8 billion Diamer-Bhasha Dam in a meeting of the Central Development Working Party (CDWP), The News has learnt.
The meeting was chaired by Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Sardar Aseff Ahmad Ali.The regime, since long, has been claiming that work on the dam portion will kick off in the current year, but the adviser placed his own government in an awkward position by coming down heavily …

Skardu: Balawaristan National Front, Baltistan chapter, has supported the proposal of President Asif Ali Zardari to restart peace process with India. It demanded that the true representatives of the people of Kashmir and Balawaristan should be included in any future dialogue with India.
These observations came at a meeting of the BNF in Skardu which was presided over by BNF divisional president Mehdi Akmal. The party’s senior vice-president Syed Hyder Shah Rizvi was chief guest on the occasion.
The meeting decided to launch a membership drive and open unit offices of the …

GILGIT: Gilgit-Baltistan is a disputed area and its final destiny is yet to be decided in accordance with the resolutions of the United Nations. Therefore, to launch any mega project in the region is a violation of the international laws.
Despite opposition by the people of the region, the government of Pakistan seems hell-bent on construction of the dam. This is being done despite that fact that the World Bank has already refused to provide funds for the project terming the site of the dam seismically active. Before that the government …