Amid growing calls of no-trust motion against the premier Imran Khan from the opposition, especially Sindh-centric PPP. It is pertinent to mention here how PTI-led Centre fills the gaps of the incompetence of PPP governance left.
It’s 9 pm on Sunday. In a village near the dusty town of Matiari, Ali Soomro; aged 17; the elder son of an Ajrak-woven trader in a city famous for its Ajrak; and a vibrant student who has big dreams to achieve with his studies. But, at the moment, he was struggling to study for his paper for tomorrow.
Why?
The abrupt load-shedding was leaving him unable to concentrate on his studies. “How do you focus on papers’ preparations when the lights go off at night by 8 pm? he exasperated.
Some 150 kilometers away, it’s almost dusk in Umerkot. While the town has come alive after a day of hectic activity. Ama Rabu, a quinquagenarian, after toiling away in the fields of cotton all day, went back to her home rather hastily to make a meal for her children, only to find out the gas ran out again.
“Now, my kids have to sleep hungry. It’s not fair,” she lamented. In the meantime, the arduous and bumpy ride from Hyderabad to Sukkur highway has left Yasir Ahmed, a lorry driver from Hyderabad—dejected to add insult to injury, the pitted road of the route made the journey grueling and long. This, in return, affected the delivery of goods on time.
“If the goods are delivered late, there’ll be hell to pay,” anxious Yasir remarked.
PM Imran Khan Came to the Rescue
However, on April 16, 2021, something miraculous happened. It is when Prime Minister Imran Khan, flanked by Planning Commission Minister, Asad Umer, announced a “game-changer” development package for Sindh, which would not just prove to be a boon but also an elixir that could potentially uplift 14 underdeveloped districts of Sindh.
Details of the package revealed a whopping Rs446 billion of 107 projects had been earmarked for infrastructure projects, water management, and power supply in Sindh, which PM Imran Khan said would “bring prosperity” to the people of Sindh.
While this special Sindh development package zeroed in the grievances of the likes of Ali and Ama Rabu to provide them relief by installing electricity projects worth Rs52bn and facilities of 30,000 annual electricity connections would also be part of this package. While on the woes of gas, the supply of gas to the backward districts of Sindh will be started on an emergency basis. Gas supply to 160 villages will be made possible, which will benefit 5,074 households.
As far as the highways are concerned, many drivers like Yasir Ahmed benefited from it massively by the PM’s initiatives to build a 306-kilometer Sukkur-Hyderabad motorway for Rs191.4 billion. Moreover, PM has also announced the construction of two dams, namely Nai Gaj: The dam will not only resolve Sindh’s water crisis but will boost the economic activities as well. At the same time, PM promised to create jobs and improve education by upgrading technological institutes, including the up-gradation of 14 passport offices.
Decades of Neglect by PPP
Under the development program, the youth of these 14 priority districts of Sindh will receive skill-based training to enable them to tap their maximum potential.
The premier believed that Naya Pakistan would be built based on meritocracy, where hard work would ensure progress and prosperity. While Sindh’s youth are brimming with talent, they need opportunities to come up in life.
PM Imran Khan opined the fact that only a few districts of Sindh have been given development projects, due to which 14 other districts were ignored. PM Khan made it clear that these 14 districts will now be brought at par with developed Sindh, as this package aims at the socio-economic development of the neglected areas.
The package by Prime Minister Imran Khan has come as a blessing for underdeveloped rural Sindh. This was a promise to the neglected districts of Pakistan. It is being fulfilled by providing irrigation, employment opportunities, education facilities, gas supply, and electricity in villages. It will also create new livelihoods for women by providing them loans to start their businesses. These are not just promises but have been translated into reality as work on these projects has begun already. Soon, with these initiatives, the redress in balance is in the offing for the populace of interior Sindh, and by extension, Sindh, which is ravaged by exploitation and neglected for decades.
