First time in country’s history: Body formed by caretaker govt to supervise release of uplift funds

ISLAMABAD: For the first time in the country’s history, a caretaker government is set to release development funds.

In this connection, official sources said the federal cabinet has also constituted a 24-member steering committee, headed by Minister for Communication Shahid Ashraf Tarar, to monitor and supervise the release of Rs29 billion development funds.

The committee, which includes four caretaker ministers, also comprises senators belonging to Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PMLN), Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUIF), Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), Awami National Party (ANP), National Party (NP), Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP) and senior officials of ministries and divisions concerned.

It may be pointed out that the previous regime with Shehbaz Sharif as the prime minister for the fiscal year 2023-2024 reserved Rs90 billion for development funds out which Rs61 billion were released in four months. The sources said the PPP and other parties have raised the issue of failure to release the remaining development funds.

Headed by the caretaker minister for communication, the steering committee also includes caretaker Interior Minister Sarfraz Bugti, caretaker Health Minister Dr Nadeem Jan, caretaker Education Minister Madad Ali Sindhi, Senator Dandes Kumar and Senator Palwasha Khan (PPP), Senator Irfan Siddiqui (PMLN), Senator Mohsin Aziz (PTI), Senator Kamran Murtaza (JUIF), Syed Faisal Sabswari (MQMP), Senator Tahir Bazinjo (NP), Senator Arbab Umar Farooq (ANP), Senator Sardar Muhammad Shafiq Tareen (PkMAP) and federal secretaries for finance, planning and development, petroleum, power, housing and development.

The steering committee also comprises the Punjab Planning and Development Board chairman and Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Sindh development additional secretaries.

The steering committee will also have powers to cancel or stop release of development funds for any scheme.

Caretaker Minister for Information and Broadcasting Murtaza Solangi, when approached to comment on the formation of the steering committee, said it was not in his knowledge. “I have no knowledge of that,” he said in a one-liner.