Federal Govt pledges prosperity, development for Sindh: Ahsan
KARACHI: Federal Minister for Planning, Development, and Special Initiatives Professor Ahsan Iqbal visited Sindh on Monday.
He was received on his arrival in Karachi by Sindh Minister for Planning Nasir Shah, Chairman Planning and Development Sindh Najam Sha,h and other dignitaries.
During the visit, a one-on-one meeting was held between the two ministers, followed by a detailed review meeting on ongoing projects under the Public Sector Development Program (PSDP) for urban and rural areas of Sindh.
Sindh Minister for Planning Nasir Shah thanked Professor Ahsan Iqbal for his unwavering support, which resulted in a record funding of about Rs81 billion for Sindh in the last decade.
Professor Ahsan Iqbal reiterated the federal government’s commitment to usher in a new era of development and prosperity in Sindh as per the Prime Minister’s directives.
In the meeting, the Federal Minister directed to complete all ongoing PSDP projects in Sindh on time, including in the education, water, housing and infrastructure sectors.
He highlighted the green channel approval for the rehabilitation housing project in flood-affected areas, under which more than 800,000 houses have been constructed so far, out of which 350,000 houses have been completed.
He said that the ownership of these houses has been given to women, which reflects the government’s commitment to gender equality.
Despite financial difficulties, the federal minister stressed on the government’s efforts to continue development projects. He said that the PSDP budget was reduced from Rs 1,000 billion in 2018 to Rs 700 billion in 2022, when the country was on the verge of internal bankruptcy.
He appreciated the bold decisions of the coalition government led by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, thanks to which Pakistan was put on the path of development again.
The Federal Minister highlighted the federal government’s ambitious project “Udhan”, which is focused on the 5Es framework for Pakistan’s future development.
The framework is based on exports, e-Pakistan, environment, energy, and ethics, equality and empowerment.
He termed provincial export boards, digital development, environmental resilience, clean energy transition and human resource development as key factors for Pakistan’s socio-economic transformation.
Prof. Ahsan Iqbal prioritized the improvement of the health and education sectors, which are essential for a functioning workforce.
He announced that the federal government is launching a campaign to eliminate hepatitis within three years. Furthermore, he stressed the need to pay urgent attention to other sectors such as health, education and population control.
The Planning Minister stressed the need to increase women’s participation in the workforce and said that increasing the female participation rate to more than 50 percent is essential for Pakistan’s development.
The federal government is committed to promoting cooperation with all provincial governments, to ensure sustainable development and prosperity in all sectors.
