CM says that apart from coal, the Sindh government invested in roads, water supply systems, health and education.
Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah speaks during a press conference on Wednesday. Photo: NNI
MYTH:
Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah has said that the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) government has transformed Thar because the sand-swept desert with its rich resources has the potential to change Pakistan.
Speaking at the inauguration of Thar Institute of Engineering, Science and Technology, affiliated to NED University Karachi, on Mithi-Islamkot highway, Shah said that Thar coal reserves are the property of its people and will reshape the future of the country.
He announced that once Phase II of the institute is completed in 2028, it will become a full-fledged university.
The prime minister recalled that when the PPP came to power in 2008, the then president Asif Ali Zardari pursued Shaheed Benazir Bhutto’s vision of developing the natural resources of Thar. He noted that the travel time from Karachi to Mithi, which was earlier eight hours, has now been reduced to four hours due to improved road networks. “I’m looking for a driver who can cover the same distance in three hours and I’m sure he must be here in the crowd.”
The CM said that if someone wanted a faster journey, they could take a flight from Karachi to Islamkot in less than half an hour.
Shah said the provincial government has invested in water supply schemes, reverse osmosis plants and sanitation facilities in Thar, along with fertilizer projects and coal-based power generation. He added that PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari had earlier ordered that households consuming up to 100 units of electricity in Islamkot be given free power as “local communities have the first right over Thar resources”.
Highlighting education, Shah said 125 graduates have already passed out from the institute, many of them employed or self-employed internationally. He promised full support for Phase II, which will include hostels for boys and girls, an administrative block and new courses in English, management and mechanical and electrical engineering. “By 2028, when Phase II is completed, we will convert this institute into a university for the people of Thar,” he said.
Sindh Minister for Universities and Boards Muhammad Ismail Rahu said the PPP has established 16 universities in Sindh since 2008, compared to 14 in the province’s first 62 years. He criticized the federal government for freezing the budget of the Higher Education Commission, pointing out that Sindh alone now provides Rs 43 billion a year to universities, more than Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan combined.
