Govt to dissolve Imran's flagship project

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has decided to dissolve the Naya Pakistan Housing and Development Authority (NAPHDA), a flagship project of former prime minister Imran Khan's government.

Reliable sources confirmed that PM Sharif has decided to wind up the authority, a national construction organization responsible for the planning, development, construction and management of real estate projects across the country.

In this regard, the contract of Major General (retd) Amir Aslam Khan, the current NAPHDA chairman, has not been renewed.

Meanwhile, Captain (retd) Muhammad Zafar Iqbal has been appointed as the acting chairman of the authority. His appointment will be for a period of three months, according to a notification issued by the Establishment Division.

According to the notification, Captain (retd) Iqbal will hold additional charge as acting chairman either for three months or until a permanent appointment is made.

Iqbal is a BS-20 officer of the Pakistan Administrative Service, and is currently serving as the director general of the Federal Government Employees Housing Authority.

The authority had an annual budget of Rs400 million, and over the past five years, its total budget reached Rs2 billion yet its output remained zero, sources added.

The NAPHDA was established on January 15, 2020. The Senate of Pakistan passed the Naya Pakistan Housing and Development Authority Bill in 2019.