We will spend money on welfare of Sindh’s people: Umar

In a staunch reply to Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah's complaints that the Centre has not allotted enough funds for the development of the province, Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Asad Umar on Sunday said that the federal government was spending money for the welfare of the people of Sindh — not its government.

"I think Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah is not only confused but unable to distinguish between the people of Sindh and his government," he said while talking to a private news channel. He said that the funds that had gone from the Centre to Sindh in the past had "resulted in palaces being constructed, diamond necklaces being discovered in Switzerland and towers being constructed in Dubai, and assets being accumulated in France".

"Chief minister, sir, you may be the government of Sindh but you are not the people of Sindh. And we will spend on the people of Sindh, not on the government of Sindh," Umar said.

"The people of Sindh know of what I speak, whether it is citizens living in the urban areas or in villages. The rest of Pakistan, on the other hand, may not even know how poorly developed Sindh is," the minister added.

Umar reminded everyone that Prime Minister Imran Khan had announced, after coming to power, two "historic development packages” which covered urban areas as well as rural areas of Sindh.

He said the federal government was spending funds through the National Disaster Management Authority for cleansing and dredging the Nullahs of Karachi Metropolitan city. He claimed that the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) had not constructed a single motorway in the province for better networking and connectivity during its tenures.