WASHINGTON, D.C: Several overseas Sindhis, Balochs and Pakhtoons staged a symbolic protest rally outside of Pakistan embassy here today to express their anger and disappointment over the decision of the Government of Pakistan to construct the Kalabagh Dam on the Indus River.

The rally, which was organized by the World Sindhi Institute, took place on Friday, 28th August 1998, between the hours of 12 noon to 2pm. The participants displayed several placards and banners listing many detrimental facts about the Kalabagh Dam project and its undemocratic nature. The crowd raised slogans in English, Sindhi, Balochi, Seraiki and Pashto languages, demanding an immediate end to the Kalabagh Dam project. A written memorandum was also presented to Ambassador of Pakistan along with a letter to the Prime Minister Mohammad Nawaz Sharif.

Speaking on the occasion Sufi Munawar Laghari, President, WSI, and Chief Organizer, Anti- Kalabagh Dam Education Forum, requested the authorities to understand the seriousness of the issue and respect the democratic decision of three out of four provincial assemblies in Pakistan against the project. He said that, if federal government continues to deprive the smaller provinces of their water rights, things could get worse and eventually lead to the break-up of the country. He further said that, their efforts did not end here today and they would continue to protest the issue until the decision was taken back once-and-for-all. He said that, if the need arose they would take the matter to the International Court of Justice and stage token hunger strikes. Sufi Laghari spoke in Sindhi, Urdu, and Seraiki languages. Among other speakers at the occasion was Ayesha Babar who addressed the crowd in Balochi and Pashto languages to express the dissatisfaction over the decision to construct the Kalabagh Dam. She called the decision anti-people and against the will of the millions of Sindhi, Baloch and Pakhtoon masses. She demanded that the government abandon the project without wasting any time. Dr. Altaf Memon, an environmental educationist at the University of Maryland, talking to a Voice of America correspondent, explained the devastating effects of the Kalabagh Dam project on the environment and the ecology of the Indus basin. He added that the shortcomings in the design of the project would not render any viable economic benefit to the country. Dr. Aftab Kazi, a well-known Social Scientist of Pakistan, informed the media about the political nature of the issue and its negative consequences on the federation of Pakistan. Among the other media covering the event included some of the local TV channels.

The rally was also attended by many Human Rights and Environmental activist including: Mike Amity of Human Rights Access; John Salzburg, a local Human Rights Activist; Kani Xulan of American Kurdish Information Network; Harold Nelson of Guatemala Human Rights Commission and Sally Elkins of Rivers Network. Among others who endorsed the rally include: Dam-Reservoir Working Group, Ottawa, Canada; Asia Pacific Center for Justice and Peace, Washington, DC; International Rivers Network, Berkeley, California; Like-minded Environmental Activists Group, Bangladesh; India Center for Human Rights and Law, Mumbai; Sanctuary Magazine, Mumbai and the World Sindhi Congress, London, England.--PR