Sindh completes 1,450 development schemes, opposes federal tax on solar systems

Sindh Minister for Energy, Development, and Planning, Syed Nasir Hussain Shah has announced that Sindh is the only province in Pakistan to has successfully completed 1,450 development schemes.

Addressing a press conference on Thursday, Shah strongly criticised the federal government for failing to allocate any major development projects for Karachi since 2013. He emphasised the city’s vital role in the national economy and said its problems are consistently neglected. “Karachi makes a major contribution to the national economy, yet its problems are often ignored while people only shed crocodile tears,” he remarked, noting that thousands of people continue to migrate to the city every day.

He credited former president Asif Ali Zardari for significant contributions to Karachi's development, citing even former mayor Mustafa Kamal’s acknowledgment of Zardari’s efforts as now being a part of the city's documented history.

Reaffirming the Pakistan Peoples Party’s (PPP) commitment to inclusive governance, Shah said the party was working to serve the people of Sindh without discrimination, following the vision of Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari. He further highlighted the support of Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah, under whom several mega development projects had been added to the next fiscal year’s budget.

Speaking about the PPP’s performance, Shah claimed that the party’s governance model had increased its popularity, predicting that the public would vote exclusively for PPP in the 2029 general elections.

Shifting focus to energy issues, Shah voiced strong opposition to the proposed federal tax on solar systems, calling for it to be reduced to zero. “This tax must be brought down to zero percent,” he asserted. He also criticised the inefficiencies of K-Electric and condemned unannounced load-shedding by HESCO and SEPCO. According to Shah, overbilling and average billing had become routine practices by these power companies, exacerbating the public’s hardship. He assured that the Sindh government was taking all necessary steps to protect citizens from excessive billing, power outages, and energy mismanagement.