Sindh govt donates Rs5m to Sukkur Press Club

SUKKUR: Sindh Minister for Information Syed Nasir Hussain Shah has handed over a cheque of Rs5 million, as financial grant, to the Sukkur Press Club.

Talking to media persons, Nasir Hussain Shah claimed Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) believes in freedom of press and would continue its support to the media, saying the Sindh government has planned to provide annual grant to every divisional press club. He said Peoples’ Media Support Program (PMSP) was launched by the Sindh Information Department to help the owners of the media groups for paying salaries of their employees. On the directives of PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, the Sindh Information Deptt had decided to take bonds from the media houses before giving them public advertisements to ensure they provide regular salaries to their employees and none were sacked.

The Sindh minister said different issues were discussed in the meeting of Council of Common Interests (CCI), while a separate meeting of Sindh and federal governments’ officials was also held to discuss security measures for upcoming Moharram-ul-Haram. He said religious leaders and scholars were also on board to ensure Covid-19 SOPs. However, he underlined the apprehension that unless people observe the SOPs strictly, the viral infection may surge again.

Nasir Shah said the country’s economy was on the verge of collapse, the devaluation is high along with sky rocketing inflation, particularly food related inflation, having two square meals difficult for a common man.

He said petrol prices, sugar and flour crises have further dealt a blow to the economy. Talking about rain water drainage in Karachi, the Sindh minster said the provincial government has provided millions of rupees to Karachi Metropolitan Corporation and the DMCs to keep Nullahs and storm drains clean and unclogged. But not a single penny was allocated for the development of Karachi in the federal budget, despite of the announcement of Rs162 billion package, he said.