Provinces getting development funds on time: Ahsan Iqbal

Karachi

All the provinces have been paid 40 percent of the funds allocated in the federal government’s current budget (2015-2016) for carrying out development work, while the remaining amount will be dispatched within three months.

This was stated by federal planning and development minister Ahsan Iqbal while addressing a press conference at the Sindh Secretariat where he had been presiding over a meeting to review the development work being carried out in Sindh under the federal government’s Vision 2025.

Flanked by ministers of Sindh, Balochistan, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Gilgit Baltistan, the federal planning and development minister apprised of the developments of the meeting he had chaired. He said the federal and provincial governments needed to be on the same page and work on a unified strategy while considering development works.

Iqbal said he had asked the provincial governments to inform him about the details of resources and problems being faced by provinces, since there was a need for collective research about development issues being faced by the country.

He said after the adoption of the 18th Constitutional Amendment, it had become imperative for the federal and provincial governments to collectively work on development projects. He said the amendment had enhanced the role of provinces in development of the country.

He said the government had a special focus on developing the energy sector with a view to enhance electricity production to 10,000 MWs by the year 2018, and increasing power production to 25,000 MWs by 2028.

 

Panama Leaks

Answering another question, the federal minister said that the prime minister had announced the formation of a judicial commission to properly probe the allegations arising out of recent “Panama Leaks” episode.

Iqbal said instead of debating on the controversy, one should wait for the commission’s report and if anyone had any objections then he or she could move to court.