Sindh’s demand to devolve National Museum reiterated in PA

Sindh Culture Minister Syed Zulfiqar Ali Shah on Monday reiterated the provincial government’s demand for control of the National Museum in Karachi in line with the 18th constitutional amendment.

The minister made this demand in the provincial assembly while taking part in the ongoing general discussion on the newly presented Sindh government budget for the upcoming financial year 2024-25.

In his speech in the House the culture minister mentioned that the National Museum has been in a dilapidated condition under the control of the federal government. He told the legislature that students from all over Pakistan are enrolled at the Sindh Institute of Music & Performing Arts established by the provincial government in Jamshoro. He said the court should review its decision of halting the Sindh government from recruiting music teachers.

He informed the lawmakers that the public-private partnership system would be adopted to launch water sports facilities at the Keenjhar Lake in Thatta. He said the same system of development would be utilised to transform the Gorakh Hill Station. The entire record of the tourism department will be digitised, he added.

Social Welfare Minister Tariq Talpur told the PA that the Sindh Child Protection Authority had come into being in 2011, and that the authority is fully functional now. He said the provincial government has been running a shelter home in Malir that is housing 200 children.

Labour Minister Shahid Salam Taheem said Benazir Mazdoor Cards have been issued to 150,000 labourers in the province. He said the National Database & Registration Authority has been asked to issue the cards to a total of 625,000 workers in the province.

Zakat & Auqaf Minister Riaz Shah Sheerazi said the provincial budget has allocated maximum funds for the uplift of education and healthcare facilities in Sindh. He said the districts of Thatta, Sujawal and Badin would be developed on a priority basis.

He added that the new provincial budget has allocated funds for carrying out development works at shrines in the province to facilitate their visitors.

He also said biometric verification of Zakat beneficiaries in Sindh is being conducted, while 70,000 people in the province have received Zakat so far. The provincial government will launch a bus service from Gulshan-e-Hadeed to Thatta, he added.

Industries & Commerce Minister Jam Ikramullah Dharejo praised the decision of the provincial government to increase the minimum monthly wage of labourers to Rs37,000. He complained about the excessive curtailment of gas supply in Sindh. He said villages around the Qadirpur gas field are without gas supply.

Women Development Minister Shaheena Sher Ali said the provincial government has been making the best possible efforts to further the cause of women empowerment in the province. A telephone helpline service has been functioning to receive complaints from women in the province facing hardships, she added.

She said her department has a total annual budget of Rs800 million. The provincial government spent a sum of Rs100 million to meet the expenses of safe houses and shelter homes for women, she added.

She also said her department would launch learning initiatives to provide girls training of motorbiking and mobile phone repairing. She told the House that there are a total of 24 safe houses in the province where women facing security issues are initially accommodated for 72 hours, and that more safe houses would be built in the province.

Environment Minister Doost Muhammad Rahimoon said that industrial zones have been directed to install treatment plants to prevent discharge of untreated industrial waste into the sea. He said coal-based power plants in Sindh have been asked to adopt the necessary precautions to minimise harmful emissions.