KARACHI: Former Sindh Energy Minister Imtiaz Shaikh slammed the caretaker government for allegedly neglecting the Thar coal project, ARY News reported on Monday.
Imtiaz Shaikh told the media that Thar coal is the energy lifeline of Pakistan and the caretaker government is neglecting it.
He added that the companies including Sindh Engro Coal Minister Company and other Chinese firms working on the project expressed reservations for delay on different key matters.
Shaikh criticised that the construction work on the 105-km coal field-Chhor railway line was also delayed despite the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) government completed the planning and allocated 50% funds for the project.
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The former minister said that the timely completion of the project would save millions of dollars for the country.
Earlier in the month, PPP asked the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to unfreeze the funds for development schemes.
PPP senior leader Senator Taj Haider wrote a letter to the chief election commissioner (CEC) and demanded to take back its decision to ban the disbursement of funds for the development schemes ahead of elections.
The political party criticised the freezing of funds for the development schemes aiming to provide relief and welfare to the masses.
It stated that the ECP took the surprise decision to freeze the funds for a solar panel scheme amid worst loadshedding and inflated electricity bills issues.
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Senator Taj Haider was of the view that the caretaker set-up could not seize the development schemes under the Election Act. He added that it was an unusual move to see ECP stopping the fund disbursements instead of a caretaker set-up.
The PPP leader stated that the ECP took an unconstitutional step by seizing the development funds.
He added that 50,000 out of 2 million houses had been constructed by the government for the flood-affected families in the past three months but the owners were not being allowed to enter their houses.
Senator Haider complained about facing challenges in the shape of mass protests against the inflated electricity bills and the closure of business centres due to the wrong policies.
The politician detailed that under a development scheme, the Sindh government had planned to install solar panels in 2.1 million houses belonging to the flood affectees but the authorities were unable to continue the project due to freezing of the funds.
Senator Haider urged the election commission to take back its decision on humanitarian grounds.
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