ISLAMKOT: Lauding Sindh Engro Coal Mining Company (SECMC) efforts to ‘un-darken’ Pakistan, the Council of Pakistan Newspaper Editor (CPNE) has hoped that by tapping the enormous Thar Coal reserves and producing electricity will ultimately lay the foundation of country’s energy lifeline. A high-level delegation of Council of Pakistan Newspaper Editors (CPNE) led by its Secretary General, Mr. Ijaz ul Haq visited Thar Coal project at Block II to witness the developments taking place for its mining and power generation components and social and environment related measures. Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of SECMC, Mr. Shamsuddin Shaikh made a detailed presentation to the delegation and briefed them about project progress and mitigation measures taken to protect the local environment. Mr. Shaikh was of the view that SECMC is investing enormous funding to support social and cultural initiatives and to protect the environment. He was of the view that without benefitting host communities and Tharparkar district in general, Thar Coal project cannot be termed successful. “Tharis are the real owners of the mammoth coal reserves and we are taking them on as partners,” he added. The delegation took great interest in the project and greatly appreciated the measures taken by SECMC to safeguard socioeconomic interest of the host communities and safeguarding the environment. The visiting delegation also visited the mining area, power project, model house, and also planted saplings at Green Park, which is developed to plant thousands of trees. The visiting delegation also participated in an inauguration ceremony held to kick start construction work for Senhri Dars Model Colony, which is being built to resettle the population of village Senhri Dars in 2018. Speaking on the occasion, CPNE Secretary General, Aijaz ul Haq said that the trip to Thar Coal was an excellent opportunity to witness the transformation process, which is not only going to uplift the under-developed district of Tharparkar but bring out Pakistan from an era of darkness. The delegation also enjoyed a cultural program where Sanwal-Marvi group and Khushboo Leghari enthralled the audience and made them sway to the tunes of local music. The visiting delegation included Imtiaz Alam, Shaheen Qureshi, Aijaz ul Haq, Kazi Asad Abid, Aamer Mahmood, Rahmat Ali Raazi, Anwar Sajidi, Irfan Athar Qazi, Ghulam Nabi Chandio, Dr. Jabbar Khattak, Siddiq Baloch, Mushtaq Ahmed Qureshi, Kazim Khan, Jawed Mehr Shamsi, Syed Mumtaz Shah, Dr. Waqar Yousuf Azeemi, Tahir Najmi, Abdul Khalique Ali, Maqsood Yousufi, Farooq Soomro, Abdul Rahman Mangrio, Mubashar Mir, Syed Turab Ali Shah, Mumtaz Ahmed Sadiq, Bashir Ahmed Memon, Kashif Memon, Imtiaz Kazi, Iqbal Mallah, Javed Memon, Salman Qureshi, Sher Muhammad Khuhawar, Syed Raza Shah, Zahida Abbasi, Bilqees Jahan, Haseena Jatoi, and Tania Baloch.