Dispute: Force to be deployed at Diamer-Bhasha border
Our Correspondent
Islamabad, December 28: The Federal Government has decided to deploy force near the Diamer-Bhasha border, in order to “pacify” a discord that has spiked recently after brewing for several years.
The people of Kohistan and Diamer claim an 8-kilometer patch of land located at the inter-provincial border where the mega hydro-power project called Diamer-Bhasha Dam is to be constructed. The Power Houses are scheduled to be constructed in what the government of Khyber-Pakhtunkhawa claims as its own territory. The claim is disputed by the government of Gilgit-Baltistan, especially the residents of Diamer District who claim ownership of the land.
This eight kilometer patch of land has gained importance after the federal government’s decision to construct three power houses attached with the Diamer-Bhasha dam here. According to the constitution, the royalty of the power project is given to the province or region where the power houses are constructed. Under this scheme, the people of Diamer (Gilgit-Baltistan) will not be getting full royalty of the dam, despite of losing almost 22 human settlements, including a large portion of Chilas city.
Earlier this month, the residents of Kohistan had blocked the Karakoram Highway in protest, to assert their claim over the land.
