Daily Times

Provincial leader of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf and opposition leader in Sindh Assembly, Haleem Adil Shaikh, alleged Sindh government of embezzlement of billions of rupees in development funds while the federal government has announced another package for development of Sindh.

The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) government had done nothing in Sindh during its 13 year long rule in the province while Prime Minister Imran Khan not only made announcements but also took practical measures to provide relief to the people of Sindh, he said while talking to media persons in District Court Malir on Saturday.

He termed it an irony that a political party that had done nothing in 13 years of rule was criticizing PM Imran Khan who has announced another mega development package for Sindh in three years.

In the mega development package worth R. 1100 billion the federal government had a share of Rs. 725 billion while PM announced Rs. 446 billion package for uplift of under-developed districts of Sindh, Shaikh elaborated.

Under the Rs.1100 billion package, Green line bus service would start its operations in August this year, drainage and rainwater disposal Nullahs being cleared, he said adding,“We are clearing the drainage channels while PPP was busy in china cutting alongside Malir Expressway inside the river bed from Malir to Darsano Chhano and the same plots were being sold to poor people”. Karachi did not get an additional drop of water in the previous 13 years but now with the financial assistance of the federal government, work on the K-IV project has been expedited and WAPDA was engaged to complete the project at the earliest.

On demand of the people of Sindh, the Prime Minister also announced Sukkur-Hyderabad motorway and work would start on the project within a month, Shaikh said.

He said the Prime Minister has given health cards to 2,75,000 families in Tharparkar, billions of rupees were earmarked for the youth of Sindh under Kamyab Jawan Program, a project on Nai Gaj was under construction to store rainwater for irrigating 200,000 acres of land while new connections of electricity and gas were being provided to the towns of Sindh lacking the facility earlier.

The Sindh government received Rs.7880 billion from National Finance Commission (NFC) Award and divisible pool in 13 years while Rs.1650 billion were allocated for Annual Development Plans, he stated and pointed out that a report of P&D department indicated about 40percent corruption in Rs.1700 billion uplift funds. He alleged that looted funds went to accounts of Omni Group. He said the rulers of Sindh were economic terrorists and they were looting the resources of Sindh. He alleged the Sindh government of dragging the opposition leader of Sindh assembly in courts because he was exposing their corruption. More than 200 PTI workers were indicted in false and fabricated cases as terrorists, he added and vowed that he, however, would continue to expose their corruption.

Earlier, Haleem Adil Sheikh and others presented themselves before the Malir court in a case lodged at Memon Goth police station. Due to absence of the prosecution witnesses, the court adjourned the hearing till May 20 and ordered to present the witness before the court on the next date of hearing positively.