Centre providing 62% funds of Karachi uplift package: Asad Umar

KARACHI: Setting the record straight, Planning and Development Minister Asad Umar cleared on Sunday the federal government will contribute 62 per cent funds for the Rs1.1 trillion Karachi uplift package while the Sindh government will fund 38 per cent of it.

A day after Prime Minister Imran Khan unveiled the package for the city’s transformation, he urged all political parties having stakes in the metropolis to set aside politics for successful completion of all uplift schemes and forge unity by gathering on a single platform to resolve the issues facing the people of the port city.

Speaking at a press conference alongside Minister for Maritime Affairs Ali Zaidi and IT Minister Ameenul Haq, he pointed out that a discussion started after the announcement of the package regarding who’s paying what despite that it was agreed in a meeting of the stakeholders that no one would discuss in public how much money the federal or provincial government is funneling.

Asad Umar said there is a talk on social media that the federal government will chip in fewer funds than the provincial government, adding PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari’s video clip emerged in which he claimed the Centre would spend just Rs300 billion while the Sindh government Rs800 billion.

Therefore, Asad Umar said, he considered it necessary to clear the position. “We don’t say anything behind closed doors that we will not say in front of everyone,” he clarified. He, however, added they haven’t heard anything of the sort from Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah.

Stressing that working for the city is their responsibility, he said he has been receiving messages from all over the country and not just Karachi to do something for the city’s wellbeing.

The federal minister said this package will only be successful if all state institutions, the federal and provincials governments accept the fact that the country cannot prosper until something is done for its biggest city, that is financial hub, which generates the most revenue.