The Sindh cabinet on Thursday approved a series of policy decisions, including the restoration of the deceased employees’ quota in government jobs, measures to empower farmers through collective use of resources, authorising the Sindh Bank to open and process letters of credit (LCs) for the import of goods, bringing the Lyari Nullah under the jurisdiction of the Lyari Town Municipal Corporation (TMC), and releasing Rs497.574 million to upgrade the Rohri railway Station.
The meeting was presided over by Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah at the CM House. It was attended by provincial ministers, advisers, special assistants, the chief secretary, principal secretary to the CM and other senior officers.
Deceased quota
The CM, in consultation with the cabinet, decided that cases under the deceased quota where applications for jobs were filed before September 2024, and were otherwise eligible, shall be processed on merit.
The cabinet noted that the deceased employees’ quota policy was introduced in 2002. It further observed that the Supreme Court of Pakistan, through its judgment dated September 26, 2024, had declared all legal instruments relating to the deceased quota to be discriminatory and ultra vires. Consequently, the Sindh government had ceased processing the deceased quota cases in view of the said judgment.
After detailed deliberations, the cabinet approved that the deceased quota cases filed before September 2024 may be entertained in accordance with the law and processed on merit by the departments concerned.
Local govt affairs
The cabinet approved the release of the provincial share for upgrade of the Rohri Railway Station under the local government department.
In line with a decision taken in a meeting between the CM and federal railways minister, the Pakistan Railways initiated a tendering process on a 40:60 cost-sharing basis. Following acceptance of a tender amounting to Rs1,277.16 million, the provincial government’s 40 per cent share was revised to Rs497.574 million.
The cabinet approved the release of Rs497.574 million as grant-in-aid in favour of the Pakistan Railways and placed the funds at the disposal of the local government secretary for disbursement.
The meeting also approved brining the Lyari Nullah in Karachi to the jurisdiction of the Lyari TMC after completion of legal and administrative procedures.
Letters of credit
The cabinet approved a new mechanism for opening and processing LCs for the import of goods through the Sindh Bank Limited in order to improve transparency and financial oversight. It would replace the previous practice under which public funds remained dispersed across multiple private commercial banks during import transactions.
The meeting was informed that routing LC-related transactions through the Sindh Bank would ensure better monitoring, reduce fragmentation of public funds and strengthen the bank’s trade finance operations. It would also minimise unnecessary charges.
The CM directed all the departments, autonomous bodies and grant-receiving entities of the provincial government to process import-related LCs exclusively through the Sindh Bank.
The meeting also approved the performance evaluation of the board of directors, board committees, individual directors and president of the Sindh Bank for the years ending on December 31, 2024 and 2025, conducted by an independent firm.
The evaluation rated the bank’s overall governance as very good.
To streamline future evaluations, the cabinet also considered delegating the authority to approve annual performance evaluations of the Sindh Bank to the CM in his capacity as the finance minister, ensuring timely and efficient compliance with regulatory requirements.
Recruitment rules
The cabinet approved the draft recruitment rules for the Directorate of Anti-Encroachment Force (AEF), Board of Revenue, providing a formal service structure to the force established under the Sindh Public Property (Removal of Encroachment) Act, 2010.
The rules define the method of appointment, qualifications, promotions and service conditions for posts ranging from BPS-01 to BPS-19.
The meeting was informed that, since its establishment in 2010, the AEF had operated without dedicated recruitment rules, relying in part on adapted police rules. The newly approved framework aims to strengthen institutional capacity through the Sindh Public Service Commission.
Digital education
To strengthen digital skills, the cabinet approved a memorandum of understanding with the Tech Valley Pakistan for 19,200 Google Career Certificate scholarships across 30 universities. The initiative aims to equip students with training in AI, cybersecurity, data analytics and cloud technologies.
The cabinet also endorsed the expansion of the Student Attendance Monitoring and Redress System (SAMRS) to reduce school dropouts through real-time digital monitoring.
The CM directed that all legal and procedural requirements be fulfilled and an agreement be formally signed after approval of the revised PC-I by Ecnec ensuring timely implementation of the maternal health initiative.
Micronutrient supplements
The cabinet approved the signing of an agreement between the health department and Unicef for the procurement of multiple micronutrient supplements (MMS) for pregnant women under the Sindh Integrated Health and Population Program (SIHPP).
The meeting was informed that the initiative, based on the World Health Organisation’s recommendations, aimed to improve maternal nutrition through the provision of approximately 1.37 million bottles of supplements at a total estimated cost of $2.4 million to be jointly financed by the government and Unicef.
CMWs
The Sindh cabinet was briefed on the regularisation of 94 contractual community midwife workers (CMWs) from Tharparkar, Jamshoro, Thatta, Sujawal and Kamber-Shahdadkot currently engaged under the health department.
It was said that the judiciary had directed the health department to submit a proposal to a competent forum for consideration of regularisation and ensure compliance with prior orders, including the release of salaries where applicable.
Health Minister Dr Azra Pechuho informed the cabinet that the contractual engagements of the CMWs had already been extended from June 30, 2025, till June 30, 2027. The cabinet decided that, as the employees’ contracts had already been extended, their salaries would continue, but their appointments would remain on a contract basis.
