Sindh Senior Minister for Information Sharjeel Inam Memon has said that in the current war situation in the region, the federal government has had to increase petrol prices.
On this important issue, a meeting was held under the chairmanship of President Asif Ali Zardari and the prime minister, with all the chief ministers participating and joint decisions being made.
Memon said that on the instructions of Pakistan Peoples Party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and President Zardari, the Sindh government decided to provide maximum relief to people and announced a package of Rs35 billion.
He added that priority is being given to poor farmers in the relief package. Using data from the Benazir Hari Card, all farmers owning less than 25 acres are being given relief at the rate of Rs1,500 per acre, and the transfer of funds through the Sindh Bank has also started.
Memon was addressing a crowded press conference at the DG Narcotics Control Wing Sindh office on Tuesday, along with Minister for Excise, Taxation & Narcotics Control Mukesh Kumar Chawla.
The senior minister said that 6.7 million motorbikes are registered in Sindh, and their owners would receive Rs2,000 a month as fuel subsidy. He added that another subsidy has been provided by the Sindh government for those using public transport.
He said that keeping youth away from drugs is a key responsibility of the Sindh government. In this regard, the Naval Intelligence recently shared information about drug smuggling with the excise department and the Pakistan Maritime Security Agency (PMSA).
Following that, the excise department and the Narcotics Control Wing Sindh carried out a joint operation and seized more than 500kg of crystal meth. Memon said the excise department and the excise minister deserve appreciation for this action.
Chawla said that an attempt to smuggle drugs from the Arabian Sea was foiled through a joint operation by the excise department, the Narcotics Control Wing, the Naval Intelligence and the PMSA, seizing 500kg of crystal meth and 3,000 bottles of foreign whiskey worth billions of rupees.
He said that based on secret information, the narcotics department in District Korangi learnt that drugs were being transported to Korangi by sea. The department raided the transfer point the previous night and seized the drugs.
He also said that this operation is a clear example of effective joint action, and that the large consignment seized represents a major financial loss for organised drug trafficking networks. He added that investigations have been initiated to identify local facilitators, financial supporters and other members of the drug trafficking network.
He said the excise department and the Narcotics Control Wing conducted two more major operations the previous day. In one operation by the Narcotics Control Wing Rohri Circle near Jail Road SIUT Complex, 120kg of high-quality hashish was seized from a Fortuner vehicle, and one suspect was arrested.
In another operation by the Narcotics Control Wing Jacobabad Circle at Agriculture College, Shikarpur Road, a Bradford truck was searched and 40kg of hashish was seized. Chawla congratulated the senior officers of the excise department and the Narcotics Control Wing, the officers concerned and their teams for these successful operations, saying that thousands of youths could have become addicts if these drugs had been trafficked.
Responding to questions from journalists regarding motorbike registration under the Peoples Motorcycle Fuel Subsidy Programme and the excise department system, he said that 15,000 people have registered their motorbikes.
He said that 3,000 people have successfully applied for the subsidy programme, while Rs2,000 each has been transferred to 1,500 people in their Sindh Bank accounts. The minister clarified that the excise department’s system had been temporarily shut down due to repeated hacking attempts, and was back online after being secured.
