The CM says that apart from coal, the Sindh government invested in roads, water supply schemes, health and education
Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah speaks during a press conference on Wednesday. Photo: NNI
MITHI:
Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah has said that the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) government has transformed the Thar because the sand-sucking desert with its rich resources has the potential to transform Pakistan.
Speaking at the inauguration of Thar Institute of Engineering, Science and Technology – affiliated to NED University Karachi – on Mithi-Islamkot Road, Shah said Thar’s coal reserves are the property of its people and will reshape the country’s future.
He announced that once phase-II of the institute is completed in 2028, it will be upgraded to a full-fledged university.
The Chief Minister recalled that when the PPP came to power in 2008, then President Asif Ali Zardari pursued Shaheed Benazir Bhutto’s vision of developing Thar’s natural resources. He noted that the travel time from Karachi to Mithi, once eight hours, has now been reduced to four due to improved road networks, “I am looking for a driver who can cover the same distance in three hours and I am sure he must be here in the crowd.”
The CM said if anyone wanted a faster journey, they could take a flight from Karachi to Islamkot in under half an hour.
Shah said the provincial government has invested in water supply schemes, RO plants and health facilities in Thar along with coal-based power generation and fertilizer projects. He added that PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari had earlier directed that households consuming up to 100 units of electricity in Islamkot should be given free power as “local communities have the first right over Thar’s resources.”
Highlighting education, Shah said 125 graduates have already graduated from the institute, many employed or freelance internationally. He promised full support for Phase II, which will include boys’ and girls’ hostels, an administration block and new courses in English, management, 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 Higher Education Commission’s budget, noting that Sindh alone now gives Rs43 billion annually to universities – more than Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan combined.
