CM Sindh chairs joint session on Sindh budget planning
Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah chaired a joint meeting of the Finance and Planning & Development (P&D) departments on Wednesday to finalise proposals for the upcoming fiscal year's budget.
The meeting, held on a public holiday, was attended by Minister for Planning and Development Nasir Hussain Shah, Chief Secretary Asif Hyder Shah, Principal Secretary Agha Wasif, Finance Secretary Fayaz Jatoi, and senior officials.
'The meeting of P&D and Finance departments has been called on a holiday today,' Murad noted, adding that the aim was to finalise the next financial year's budget at the earliest.
'I want most of the proposals to be finalised before Eid,' he said, stressing that the budget should serve the public interest.
Read More: Upcoming budget to feature 'bold measures': Aurangzeb
Nasir informed the meeting that of the 4,644 ongoing development schemes, 1,812 were expected to be completed this year. The chief minister instructed that funds for these near-complete projects be released without delay.
New development schemes have also been proposed by departments, with a significant number originating from local-level initiatives, according to the planning minister.
'Shortlist the proposals for new schemes and present them in the next meeting,' the chief minister directed.
Read More: New motorway proposed to segregate port traffic
'We will review funds separately in a separate meeting and finalise new schemes,' he added.
Highlighting past performance, Murad noted, 'In the fiscal year 2023-24, the Sindh government launched 1,937 new schemes worth 88.3 billion rupees.'
'Most of the 1,937 schemes will now be completed,' he said, adding that provincial revenue figures for the new fiscal year will become clear in the first week of June.
Last week, the federal government assigned the Sindh government the responsibility to establish urology and kidney hospitals in Rawalpindi and Rahim Yar Khan.
During a cabinet meeting held at the chief minister's house, Murad informed the cabinet that Rs9 billion had been approved by the centre.
The funding covered the establishment of Sindh Institute of Urology and Transplant (SIUT) facilities in both cities, the reconstruction of flood-affected homes in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and the creation of new SZABIST and IBA campuses.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Business Recorder
2 hours ago
- Business Recorder
Mining shares boost TSX; investors await trade updates
Canada's commodity-heavy main stock index on Monday rebounded from the previous session's losses, led by gains in mining stocks, while investors looked for potential trade deals between the U.S. and its key trading partners. The S&P/TSX composite index was up 0.2% at 27,372.76 points. In the latest trade development, U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said on Sunday he was confident that Washington could secure a trade deal with the EU, but August 1 is a hard deadline for tariffs to kick in. However, EU diplomats said the 27-member bloc is exploring a broader set of possible counter-measures against the U.S., as hopes for a breakthrough deal with Washington dwindled. Traders awaited clarity on U.S.-EU trade talks and looked for additional deals from major U.S. trading partners ahead of President Donald Trump's August 1 tariff deadline. 'It (aspects of a potential trade deal) just seems to go back and forth…trying to forecast what's going to happen has consistently got investors burned over the past few months', said Josh Sheluk, portfolio manager at Verecan Capital Management. He added that it is better for investors to stay patient and avoid getting caught up in the daily noise around tariffs. Meanwhile, domestic investors looked forward to the Bank of Canada's Business Outlook Survey, due later in the day, for business expectations amid tariff-related uncertainty. On the TSX, materials stocks led the sectoral gains with a 2.3% rise, tracking gold prices. Energy subindex fell 0.4% as oil prices slightly dipped. Among individual stocks, Osisko Development rose 2.2% after the mineral exploration company announced a $450 million credit agreement with funds advised by Appian Capital Advisory. In the U.S., several industrial and tech firms are set to report their earnings this week, with Alphabet and Tesla kicking off the results season for the 'Magnificent Seven' stocks.
Business Recorder
11 hours ago
- Business Recorder
Australian shares dip in broad-based selling; South32 shines
Australian shares slipped in broad-based selling on Monday, with banks and miners leading the decline, while South32 rose after the diversified miner reported fourth-quarter manganese output ahead of analysts' estimates. The S&P/ASX 200 index fell 0.6% to 8,700.80 by 0023 GMT. The benchmark rose 2.1% last week in its strongest weekly performance since April. Globally, investors were hoping for some progress in trade talks ahead of U.S. President Donald Trump's August 1 tariff deadline. In Sydney, miners fell 0.4% on Monday after gaining 1.7% last week. Shares of mining major BHP were down 0.2%. Outperforming the mining sub-index, South32 rose more than 2% after the world's largest producer of manganese clocked an output of 1.1 million wet metric tons of manganese for the quarter ended June 30. The result beat a Visible Alpha consensus estimate of 850,000 wmt, as per Barrenjoey. Financials dropped 0.8% after rising 1.6% last week, with the 'Big Four' banks down between 0.6% and 1.1%. Gold stocks declined more than 1%. Northern Star Resources and Genesis Minerals lost 0.5% and 1.5%, respectively. Energy stocks fell 0.3%. Woodside Energy was down 0.3%, while Santos edged 0.1% lower. Brent crude futures rose 5 cents to $69.33 a barrel after settling 0.35% lower on Friday. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was up 2 cents at $67.36 a barrel, following a 0.30% decline in the previous session. Information technology stocks dropped 0.3%. WiseTech Global declined 0.2%, while Xero's Australian shares shed 0.7%. New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index rose 0.2% to 12,905.69. Data showed the country's annual consumer inflation accelerated in the second quarter but came in below economists' forecasts. The Reserve Bank of New Zealand, which in May forecast annual inflation for the quarter at 2.6%, held interest rates steady at this month's policy meeting partly due to near-term price risks.
Express Tribune
19 hours ago
- Express Tribune
Issue new number plates for free'
Issue the new Ajrak-themed number plates for free or stop legal action for non-compliance, said Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) senior leader Dr. Farooq Sattar on Sunday. Sattar strongly criticised the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), accusing it of running a feudal form of democracy in Sindh for the past 17 years. He warned that Karachi, the province's economic backbone, was being systematically exploited, while its citizens were being pushed to the wall. Addressing a press conference at MQM-P's Bahadurabad headquarters alongside senior leaders Syed Amin-ul-Haque, Zahid Mansoori, Shakil Ahmed, and others, Sattar said "there is a smoldering anger in Sindh's cities. Karachi is being looted in the name of culture, and the feudal rulers have shown unprecedented arrogance," he said. He questioned the recent promotion of Ajrak-themed number plates, claiming that behind this cultural facade lies a "new avenue of exploitation." He alleged that thousands of traffic policemen from interior Sindh have been deployed in Karachi and are extorting money from citizens under the pretext of enforcement. "Governor Sindh has rightly pointed out that Ajrak will lose its sanctity if it is used to loot people," he added. Sattar pointed out that while in interior Sindh more than 95% of vehicles reportedly operate without number plates, no action is taken there. "Karachi, the golden goose, is being slaughtered," he said, calling for either free issuance of number plates or a halt to arbitrary penalties. He also criticised the recent transfer of 40 employees from the Sehwan Development Authority to the Sindh Building Control Authority (SBCA), terming it an "injustice" to Karachi's youth. "Karachi and Hyderabad domicile holders are being sidelined in government institutions," he said. The MQM leader said that the collapse of buildings in Lyari and failure to implement policies on dangerous structures reflect the PPP-led provincial government's negligence. He demanded that former chief ministers and local government ministers be named in FIRs for allowing illegal constructions during their tenure. "The Minister for Local Government is obligated to convene meetings on dangerous buildings every three months — but they have shown complete disregard," he noted. Touching on education, Sattar claimed that in the recent NED University entrance exam, 90% of students from Sindh's rural boards failed, while 76% from Karachi passed, showing a glaring disparity. "I feel sorry for these children. They are being made dependent on crutches by a broken system," he remarked. Sattar also criticized the Karachi mayor and the Jamaat-e-Islami's nine town chairmen, blaming them for poor city conditions. "The mayor says he is not responsible for lanes and neighborhoods. Then who is?" he asked.
