A writ petition was filed in the Lahore High Court on Monday against the government for halting the Diamir Bhasha Dam project.
Advocate Ahmad Masood Gujjar filed the petition. He told the court that postponing the project would cause a huge loss to the national exchequer. He said the president had announced the construction of Diamir Basha Dam on January 17, 2006. He said the Council of Common Interests had unanimously approved the construction of the dam. The petitioner said physical work on the dam would take seven years for completion. He said the delay had already resulted in the cost of the dam increasing to $14 billion from the original $12.6 billion. Gujjar said Finance Minister Ishaq Dar claimed to have convinced the World Bank to finance the Bhasha Dam without requiring an NOC from the Indian government.
He said the Asian Development Bank had also agreed to finance the project.
He asked the court to direct the government to resume work on the dam.