Parliamentarians from across the political spectrum in Sindh voiced strong reservations on Tuesday over what they described as inadequate federal funding for the province’s development projects, warning that persistent financial constraints were delaying key infrastructure schemes and widening the development gap between the federation and Sindh.
The concerns were raised during a meeting of the National Assembly Standing Committee on Planning, Development and Special Initiatives, chaired by Syed Abdul Qadir Gilani, in Karachi. The meeting was attended by committee members Zulfiqar Bachani, Naz Baloch, Farhan Chishti, Akhtar Bibi, Sami-ul-Hassan Gilani and others. Special invitations were extended to MNAs from Sindh representing various political parties, including Ejaz Jakhrani, Dr Nafisa Shah, Dr Sharmila Faruqui, Shabbir Bijarani, Arshad Vohra, Khawaja Izhar-ul-Hassan, Asiya Ishaq and Shahryar Khan Mahar.
Federal Secretary for Planning and Development Awais Sumra, Chairman Sindh Planning and Development Board Najam Ahmed Shah, senior officials from the Karachi Port Trust (KPT), the National Highway Authority (NHA), the Sindh Local Government Department and federal and provincial planning departments also attended the session.
The committee unanimously approved the minutes of its 15th meeting before holding detailed deliberations on Sindh’s share in the Federal Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) and the progress of development projects across the province. Federal Secretary Awais Sumra briefed the participants on PSDP-funded schemes currently under implementation in Sindh.
Lawmakers from Sindh expressed serious concern over what they termed insufficient allocations for the province’s development projects in the current federal budget. They pointed out that many ongoing schemes had already suffered delays due to inadequate funding, while newly approved and under-construction projects were also facing financial constraints.
Responding to the criticism, the federal secretary said the federal government was compelled to reduce development allocations because of fiscal limitations. He informed the meeting that Rs192 billion had been earmarked for Sindh’s development projects out of the Rs1 trillion federal development budget for the current financial year.
However, he acknowledged that annual reductions in the allocated funds at the end of each financial year often disrupted development work and delayed project completion. Committee members also expressed concern over the absence of a dedicated and substantial allocation for climate change initiatives despite Pakistan’s growing environmental challenges.
The committee devoted considerable attention to the long-delayed Hyderabad-Sukkur (M-6) Motorway. Committee members and invited parliamentarians strongly criticised the federal government’s failure to release adequate funds for what they described as one of Pakistan’s most strategically important transport corridors.
They maintained that the M-6 was not merely a project for Sindh but a vital national artery linking different parts of the country. They questioned why the Lahore-Bahawalnagar Motorway had received prompt financial support while the M-6 project continued to suffer repeated delays.
Federal Secretary Awais Sumra explained that the government lacked sufficient financial resources to execute the project independently and therefore had to seek financing from international financial institutions, a process that inevitably required time.
Committee members rejected the explanation and urged Standing Committee Chairman Syed Abdul Qadir Gilani to formally convey their concerns to the prime minister and all relevant federal ministers, calling for immediate intervention to end the years-long delay. Participants also recommended summoning the chairman of the National Highway Authority and the federal secretary for the Communications Ministry to brief the committee and respond to lawmakers’ concerns.
They further stressed that, alongside the immediate construction of M-6, all NHA-managed roads in Sindh should be upgraded to improve connectivity and facilitate economic activity across Pakistan.
The committee also expressed serious concern over the prolonged delay in the Greater Karachi Water Supply Scheme (K-IV). Federal and provincial planning officials presented a detailed briefing on the project’s progress, implementation challenges and legal obstacles. They informed the committee that coordination with Wapda and legal issues relating to the augmentation component being executed by the Sindh government with World Bank assistance had slowed progress.
Officials stated that while both the federal and provincial governments were committed to completing the project at the earliest opportunity, it could still take another two years. They further informed the committee that the first phase of the K-IV project, designed to supply 260 million gallons of water per day to Karachi, was expected to be completed by December 2029. The revised timeline prompted strong reservations from committee members, who demanded the formation of a special committee to engage all stakeholders and closely monitor implementation. Gilani immediately constituted a committee under the leadership of committee member Farhan Chishti to consult all stakeholders and submit a comprehensive report to the Standing Committee.
The committee also reviewed progress on Karachi’s Greater Sewerage Plan, including the S-3 project and the TP-1, TP-2, TP-3 and TP-4 wastewater treatment schemes. Officials informed members that TP-1 and TP-3 had been merged with TP-2 and TP-4, respectively, and work on the integrated projects was underway. However, they disclosed that no work had yet commenced on TP-5, which falls entirely under the responsibility of the Karachi Port Trust.
Chairman Gilani sought an explanation from KPT officials but expressed dissatisfaction with their response. He observed that unless TP-5 was completed, the Greater Karachi Sewerage Plan’s S-3 project could not become operational, and questioned who would be held accountable for the resulting losses and delays.
He directed the Federal Secretary for Planning and Development, the Chairman of the Sindh Planning and Development Board and the Chairman of the Karachi Port Trust to convene an urgent meeting on the issue and submit a detailed progress report at the committee’s next session.
Committee members and MNAs from Sindh also criticised the federal government’s approach towards the Karachi Transformation Plan, expressing dissatisfaction over what they described as the centre’s lack of commitment to the city’s development.
Concluding the meeting, the Standing Committee Chairman Syed Abdul Qadir Gilani said the committee had deliberately convened its session in Karachi to directly address Sindh’s longstanding development concerns. “We want Sindh to receive its rightful share of federal development resources,” he said.
