Construction of water reservoirs imperative to meet country's water demand: Ali Zafar

ISLAMABAD: Caretaker Minister for Information, Broadcasting and Law Affairs Barrister Ali Zafar Thursday said the construction of reservoirs was imperative to meet the country's water demand, however, consensus was required for building of Kalabagh and other dams.

The construction of Kalabagh Dam was a must for Pakistan's future, but it needed national consensus and for the purpose people should be educated on the importance of conserving water resources, the minister said while talking to PTV.

Barrister Ali Zafar said at present electricity was being generated through hydro and other resources, including oil, wind, nuclear, coal, thermal and solar. But, there was still need to work more to meet the country's power requirements, and the new elected government would have to take further steps in that regard, he added.

To a question about power outages, the minister said information regarding load-shedding was being shared with the people through a website.

He said the circular debt was a big challenge, but the interim government would have to do the work according to its constitutional mandate. ‘Political will’ was required for privatization of power distribution companies, he added.

"We are devising a mechanism to bridge the gap between supply and demand of electricity, "he said.

He said a white paper would be issued on the possibility of privatization of state institutions.

Barrister Ali Zafar said it was the priority of interim government to conduct election on time. It was also its responsibility to brief the people about the country's economic situation, he added.