Kalabagh Dam and its importance for Pakistan

Allah has blessed Pakistan with numerous resources, water is one of those gifts

Kalabagh Dam

At the time of independence, our newly formed country had no infrastructure of power generation. There were only small diesel or coal powered generation plants in various cities, but to meet the major requirement we were dependent on India. In 1958 when Field Marshall Ayub Khan took over the government, with all the other important steps, shortage of power was also taken as a very important issue and work on war footing was started.

















There were certain sites which were more important and where the development work could be started with immediate effect. Following this study, two sites on river Indus were selected for dams where we could avail power generation facility as well as water reservoirs which would be linked to canals for irrigation purpose. One site was Kalabagh, which was a natural dam and the other was Tarbela. On river Jehlum, Mangla was selected for immediate implementation. The other reason to select these sites was that these were almost in the centre of the country from where the cost of electricity distribution network would cost less and the controls would be easy, secondly, from water reservoirs, water would easily be connected to the canal system used for irrigation. In 1959, immediate work was started at Mangla Dam site.

Flow of Water

Dear readers, before going into further details, it is important to understand the flow of rivers and the places they fall into each other. Starting with river Swat which flows from Kalam to Nowshera for 12 months with an enormous quantity of water. At Nowshera it falls into river Kabul which is coming from Afghanistan, crossing through Peshawar. From Nowshera these two rivers jointly fall into river Indus at Attock. From Attock bridge, the flow of these two rivers can easily been seen, Indus in blue colour and the other two in mud colour. They go a long way side by side then ultimately merge into each other.

From Attock to Kalabagh, there is no place where this enormous quantity of water flowing from three rivers can be stored. Kalabagh is the only place where this water can be stored.

Why Kalabagh Dam is important

From Kalabagh reservoir, water can not only be used for generation of electricity but can also be utilised to irrigate the barren areas of KPK, Sindh and Balochistan. The site of Kalabagh is a natural dam, which can be constructed in much less time with less cost than a regular dam. It can store and preserve all that water flowing from rivers Indus, Swat and Kabul, which at present is going waste and falls into the Arabian Sea. It’s a sheer negligence of our governments and leaders that since long we are wasting this gift of the Nature which can be very useful for irrigation and can also generate electricity for the national grid. Practically, it’s “kufran e namet”.














It’s the foremost duty of our rulers, leaders, politicians, technocrats, bureaucrats, philosophers, journalists and also the general public to work on it and to tell India that despite their intense interference, they can’t stop us from our development. It is the duty of our politicians and feudals to tell them that they are not purchasable. If we are able to construct Kalabagh Dam, it will be our great achievement and a grand victory over India.


Democracy, which has given nothing to the nation as yet. Let’s pray this democracy and people who are always talking about it are able to act positively and give this nation at lease the required water and electricity instead of hollow slogan.

the President of Pakistan

Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq (12 August 1924 – 17 August 1988) was a four-star general who became the 6th President of Pakistan after declaring martial law in 1977. He served as the head of state from 1978 until his death in 1988. He remains the country’s longest-serving head of state.

Early life

Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq was born in Jalandhar, Punjab Province of British India, on 12 August 1924 as the second child of Muhammad Akbar.

He completed his initial education in Simla and then attended St. Stephen's College of the University of Delhi for his BA degree in History, from which he graduated with distinction in 1943. He was admitted to the Royal Indian Military Academy at Dehradun, graduating in May 1945 among the last group of officers to be commissioned before the independence of India.

He married Shafiq Jahan in 1950. Zia is survived by his sons, Muhammad Ijaz-ul-Haq, (born 1953), who went into politics and became a cabinet minister in the government of Nawaz Sharif.

Military service

Zia was commissioned in the British Indian Army in the Guides Cavalry on 12 May 1943 after graduating. After Pakistan gained its independence through a partition in 1947, Zia joined the newly formed Pakistan Army as a Captain in the Guides Cavalry Frontier Force Regiment. He also served in 13th Lancers and 6 Lancers. He was trained in the United States during 1962–1964 at the US Army Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. 

He was then promoted as Lieutenant General and was appointed commander of the II Strike Corps at Multan in 1975. It was during this time that Zia invited Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto as the Colonel-in-Chief of the Armoured Corps at Multan, using his tailor to stitch the Blue Patrols of his size. The next day, Bhutto was requested to climb a tank and engage a target, where the target was quite obviously hit. After the function, Zia met Bhutto and expressed his loyalty to him .

This promotion was ahead of a number of more senior officers. This promotion was highly controversial but had political motives for Bhutto, who saw Zia as firmly religious and an apolitical military figure who had distaste of politics. This was the same motives and move made by future Prime minister Nawaz Sharif who promoted Pervez Musharraf based on his political ambitious, as Chief of Army Staff, but met the same fate as Bhutto in 1999 (although he was not executed).

Civil disorders against Bhutto

Dissidence also increased within the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), and the murder of leading dissident Ahmed Raza Kasuri's father led to public outrage and intra-party hostility as Bhutto was accused of masterminding the crime. PPP leaders such as Ghulam Mustafa Khar openly condemned Bhutto and called for protests against his regime. The political crisis in the North-West Frontier Province (NWFP now Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) and Balochistan intensified as civil liberties remained suspended, and an estimated 100,000 troops deployed there were accused of abusing human rights and killing large numbers of civilians.

Death of Gen Zia

General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq was killed in an air crash on August 17, 1988. He had gone to Bhawalpur to see a demonstration of tanks where he was accompanied by a number of Generals, including the Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, Chief of General Staff, high-ranking Military Attaches, as well as the U. S. Ambassador to Pakistan. On his return journey, his military transport aircraft, a C-130, exploded in mid-air a few minutes after takeoff from Bhawalpur airport, killing all passengers aboard including the President

An amazing tourism place

Abbottabad was founded  january 1853.It was founded by James abbott. After the annexation of Punjab. He remained the first Deputy Commissioner of the Hazara district from 1849 until April 1853.

In the early 20th century, Abbottabad became an important military cantonment and sanatorium, serving as the headquarters of a brigade in the Second Division of the Northern Army Corps. The garrison consisted of four battalions of native infantry, of the Frontier Force (including the 5th Gurkha Rifles) and two native mountain batteries.

Recent events

On 25 January 2011, Indonesian terrorist Umar Patek was arrested in Abbotobad. Patek, a member of the Jemaah Islamiyah terrorist group, was wanted in connection with a deadly series of church bombings in Indonesia in 2000, and three attacks that killed 202 people in tourist districts of Indonesia in what became known as the Bali bombings.

On 2 May 2011, Abbottabad gained worldwide attention when U.S. President Barack Obama announced that Osama bin Laden had been killed in his compound in the city. In February 2012, nine months after bin Laden was killed, Pakistani authorities demolished the compound where Osama bin Laden had lived for years.

Tourism 

Abbottabad is very attracting tourists place, as it is a major transit point to all major tourist regions of Pakistan such as Nathiagali, Ayubia and Naran.

The Karakoram Highway, which traces one of the paths of the ancient Silk Road, starts from Hasan Abdal on the N5 and heads north passing through the city, eventually reaching Khunjerab Pass. The Karakorum Highway is a major attraction itself for its views. The Karakoram, Himalayas and the Hindu Kush ranges can be approached from Abbottabad, and it continues to be a transit city for tourists, serving as a base for visiting nearby places, such as Hunza, Gilgit, Skardu and Indus Kohistan, of the Karakoram Ran

 There is an under construction £19m amusement park in the city on a 50-acre site is includes a zoo, adventure sports facilities, restaurants and artificial waterfalls.

Education

Literacy rate in Abbottabad was 67% in 2007, and 87% in 2011 ranking first in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and second overall in Pakistan. The city has a young demographic (ages 15–30) due to the large number of students who have come from across the country to study in its schools.

The city has a wide variety of post-secondary institutions, such as Ayub Medical College, Frontier Medical College, COMSATS University of Science and Technology, and the University of Engineering & Technology.

Abbottabad is home to the Pakistan Military Academy, a four-year coeducational federal service military academy that provides training to the officers of the Pakistan Army. The academy has three training battalions and 12 companies. Another 2,000 guests each year, from over 34 countries, receive some training . 

City of Men

          

      Peshawar is one of the oldest cities in Pakistan and as well as in Asia and is the capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa with Pashto being spoken in and around the city.Peshawar is the administrative center for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan. Pushkalavati (now known by the name of Charsadda) was the previous capital of NWFP and the Kushan King Kanishka changed the capital from it to Purushapura (now know as Peshawar) in the 2nd century. The name Peshawar has been derived from the Sanskrit word meaning “City of Men”. The area basically belonged to the Gandhara and eastern Iranian tribes. For a brief period of time it also saw Greek dominance after which the Arab conquest took place and Islam came to the rise. .It has moderate climate and its production of silks, handicrafts; cotton textile, footwear etc provide a stable economy. Not only does it serve as a link between Pakistan and Afghanistan benefiting trade but it is rich in history and culture which makes it a favorite hometown for most of its people.

Peshawar is one of the most former cities on earth. It has great Islamic history. It has all kinds of professionals and manufacturers. From goldsmiths to silversmiths, traditional carpets (which is one of the biggest exports of the country currently), pottery, clothing and artwork on the wood, stones or brass. It was known for its massive 16 gates known as Rampura Gate, Reti, Kachehri, Asamai, Kabuli, Bajouri, Dabgari, Ramdas, Beriskian, Sard Chah, Sirki, Kohati, Yakka Thoot, Ganj, Lahori, Hashtnagri.

The city of flowers and also known for hospitality and making others feel at home which makes you want to visit it again and again. It is famous for its “bara” markets and the huge variety of goods one finds at surprising prices one can’t even imagine otherwise. Even though the prices may be low they can even go lower if you know how to negotiate with the Pathans. This can be witnessed when the ladies go shopping to Rashakai, a place well known for cloth market. And after all the shopping you can satisfy your taste buds with the amazing “chappal kababs” from just around the corner. Not to forget the “charsi tikka” and the “namkeen gosht” that makes Peshawari food unforgettable for the visitors.

Everyone has different views about the people of Peshawar but you might be surprised to see that they are not only intellectual and well educated but also very up to date with the latest fashion trends when it comes to girls and also fun loving and not at all conservative which makes you want to visit the city more. There are also the opposite kind which forces people into stereotyping however that is not just about Peshawar anyone with lack of education or awareness can be categorized in a similar group.

KOH-I-CHILTAN: THE HAUNTED MOUNTAIN PEAK

Balochistan, the province which makes up 44% of Pakistan’s land, is often referred to as the most deprived one as well. Valleys surrounded by barren lands and mountains with little or no production as output.  However, the province does have something which might captivate people from all over the country to visit it at least once – the scary legend of 40 undead children in the mountains of Chiltan. 

 This is one of many tales that show the haunted and mythical nature of Balochistan. 

                        Chehel-Tan (Chiltan) – The Mountain and Monument of 40 Lost Souls 

Some 20 km West of Quetta, rests the Chiltan mountain range, above the Chiltan National Park for tourists. The mountain range is famous for one thing more than any other, which is the myth about 40 lost infant souls, that would misguide tourists and send them astray, towards their death. 

Brain-child of the Brahvi language, the story about 40 children who would send tourists astray to their death has been around for decades. They say that these children would misguide tourists on purpose and make sure they never found their way back. The question arises, why would children misguide tourists? That again, is part of the frightening myth. 

Legend has it, that there was a very poor couple that lived near the Chiltan mountain range, living a barren life with no children whatsoever. They were so grieved of not having any children that the couple prayed and begged God for a child every single day. Miraculously, the couple did have children sometime, later, and it wasn’t to be just one or two kids, they gave birth to 40 children! 

  

  

Since the couple was poor and not able to provide for the 40 infants, after discussing and keeping a huge stone on their heart, they decided to leave 39 children in the forest and keep one child to raise for themselves. They knew the 39 children would die, but they were so happy for the one child that they didn’t think beyond.

However, Mother Nature had a different plan for those 39 infants. Instead of dying, she decided to raise them. After a couple of years, when the parents went to visit the jungle, they were sure that all the children would be dead. They left the only child they kept for themselves alone for a little while and he vanished into thin ether. Legend again has it that 40th child was taken by his siblings, who had all survived instead of dying and now possessed lightning reflexes and supernatural powers. 

 It is said that the children still haunt the forest of Chiltan today and misguide tourists who stop by to ask them for directions. There have been numerous cases when people have not returned from the mountains of Chiltan. The “children of the forest” from Game of Thrones give a striking resemblance to the Chehel-Tan myth of Balochistan. 

 So, when are you taking a trip to the Chiltan Mountains? Make sure you don’t stop by to take directions.