
Charging stations: Sindh govt to cooperate with investors, says minister
During a meeting in his chamber with Malik Khuda Bakhsh, Chairman of Malik Group and Convener of the FPCCI Energy Committee, the minister said that in line with the vision of PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, the government is promoting and supporting environmentally friendly energy projects. He said the government land will be utilised for setting up electric charging stations.
He said that it has been made mandatory to include electric charging facilities in newly constructed buildings in Sindh, adding electric charging stations will be established in major cities across the province.
For the convenience of those travelling outside the megacity, electric charging stations will be set up every 30 to 40 kilometres. Anyone investing in eco-friendly industries will receive full support from the government, he said.
He added that special funds are being allocated for environmentally friendly projects, and the Sindh government is providing complete facilitation for such initiatives.
During the meeting, Malik Khuda Bakhsh informed the minister that his group has initiated a $340 million investment for manufacturing and charging plants in collaboration with China, and that charging stations will be set up across Pakistan — including in Karachi and Lahore — with the help of the Chinese company ADN Group.
He praised Syed Nasir Hussain Shah's efforts and expressed confidence that if the Chinese company begins manufacturing electric vehicles in Pakistan, the Sindh government will purchase more than 20% of the vehicles produced at the Karachi plant for its own use. He confirmed that they are actively working on both manufacturing and charging plants.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Express Tribune
29 minutes ago
- Express Tribune
PTI clarifies incarcerated leaders remain resolute
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has clarified that the letter written by its Punjab leadership, while highlighting the importance of meaningful dialogue, also dispels speculation that its incarcerated leaders had buckled under any pressure. Speaking to The Express Tribune, PTI's Punjab social media head said the letter, authored by one of the five jailed leaders and delivered to the media through their lawyers, was not making any new demands per se. He explained that the party seeks to hold negotiations at all levels, including with the powers that be, 'who in reality are running the show and calling the shots'. He emphasised that the letter's key purpose was to reject the impression that PTI leaders currently behind bars were looking to settle their disputes with state institutions in a bid to end their prolonged incarceration. 'All these five leaders are standing tall, and their commitment to the party's cause remains unwavering,' he said. The PTI's call for a broader negotiation process comes as the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) has already garnered the support of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N). Senior PML-N leader Khawaja Saad Rafique called the PTI letter 'wise and pertinent". Posting on his social media handles, Saad Rafique wrote: 'The letter from senior PTI leaders imprisoned in Kot Lakhpat Jail in support of the dialogue process between political parties is important and wise. If the PTI founders agree with the opinion of their senior colleagues, then talks can begin.' However, he added that discussions should be held without preconditions and focus on reducing bitterness through dialogue and gradually easing confrontations. 'If we can talk to enemy countries, why can't we talk to each other?' he wrote. Rafique noted that Pakistan urgently needs a new and broader democratic charter, stating, 'No discussion can be fruitful without reaching consensus on this. Let's sit down together and decide on the rule of the Constitution in Pakistan, or recite the Fatiha of democracy.' He further stated that the political forces, both in government and opposition, remain a political reality, regardless of shifting popularity ratings. 'Similarly, denying the power of the establishment is also a denial of reality. The solution to our political crisis will come not through the use of force against force, but through dialogue and deliberation,' he added. 'Whatever solution to differences and complex issues emerges, it will be a step-by-step process. Instead of wasting energy on dragging and tearing each other apart, we should discuss ways to move the country forward,' Rafique said. Commenting on PTI's announcement to launch a protest movement after Muharram, he said, 'I have no doubt that the protest movement will not be successful, even after Muharram'. He attributed the expected failure to the harsh weather, PTI's weak organisational structure, internal rifts, and the rigidity of state institutions. A day earlier, the PPP had also voiced support for initiating a national dialogue process and called for the creation of a new charter akin to the Charter of Democracy. 'Inmate consensus supports talks' Earlier in the day, PTI leader Shah Mehmood Qureshi urged party chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan and Secretary General Salman Akram Raja to visit him in jail, stating that it was the consensus of the inmates of Kot Lakhpat jail that negotiations should be made. Speaking to journalists during his jail trial, Qureshi added, 'I will not disclose the name to whom PTI should initiate talks'. 'The timing of things is very important and it matters a lot in politics, so I will disclose the name at the right time,' he added. Regarding the party's continued struggle for political dialogue, he said, 'We have been talking about negotiations for two years, so what solution is left except protests when no reply is received?' Qureshi said that PTI's founding chairman, Imran Khan, would ultimately make the final decision on any negotiations. 'We wanted to talk with powerful corridors, but they received a reply that PTI should talk with politicians,' he said. He noted that confusion had intensified due to the lack of access to Imran Khan. 'They should be given access to Imran Khan so that we could take his view and explain ourselves,' he said. The seasoned politician said, 'They are in jail and they don't know what is on the ground. I have 42 years' experience in politics". "The country should flourish.' Dr Yasmeen Rashid, another incarcerated PTI leader, echoed the sentiments of jailed party members. 'We are in jails for the sake of this country, not for mines. We know we had not committed any offence; we know they will punish us, but even then, they are sticking to their stance and not bowing down to their vested interests,' she said. 'I have a lot of educational degrees and I could go to any country for a better life, but I will not do it, as Pakistan is my country and I love it,' she added. 'We talk about the constitution and will get justice through the courts.'


Business Recorder
5 hours ago
- Business Recorder
Ruling coalition given two-thirds majority as ECP notifies reserved seats
In a significant realignment of parliamentary power, the ruling coalition, largely comprising the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), secured a two-thirds majority in the National Assembly on Wednesday after the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) redistributed reserved seats following a Supreme Court verdict. The Constitutional Bench of the Supreme Court overturned an earlier July 2024 ruling that had granted reserved seats to the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), stripping the party of its eligibility to hold them. As a result, PTI ceased to be recognised as a parliamentary party. Reserved seats: ECP says majority judgement premised on 'erroneous conclusion' Responding to the court's majority decision, passed by a seven-judge bench, the ECP withdrew its previous notifications from July 2024 that had marked PTI-backed candidates as returned members of the National Assembly and various provincial legislatures. It then issued new notifications reallocating reserved seats among the PML-N, PPP, and JUI-F. National Assembly composition recast With the allocation of 13 additional reserved seats to the PML-N, 4 to the PPP, the ruling coalition now holds 235 seats in the 336-member house, well above the 224 required for a two-thirds majority. The opposition commands 98 seats, with JUI-F getting two seats, while one seat remains suspended,d and two reserved seats are currently vacant. Provincial shifts The ECP also reallocated reserved seats in the provincial assemblies: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly: 10 seats to JUI-F, 7 to PML-N, 6 to PPP, and 1 each to PTI-Parliamentarians and Awami National Party (ANP). Punjab Assembly: 23 to PML-N, 2 to PPP, and 1 each to PML-Q and Istehkam-i-Pakistan Party (IPP). Sindh Assembly: 2 reserved seats to PPP and 1 to MQM-P. PHC bars elected MPAs on reserved seats from taking oath Legal background The case stemmed from a March 2024 ruling by the Peshawar High Court, which barred the Sunni Ittehad Council, joined by PTI-backed independents after the February 8 elections, from claiming reserved seats. While Justices Ayesha Malik and Aqeel Ahmed Abbasi initially rejected review petitions filed by the PML-N, PPP, and ECP, they were later removed from the Constitutional Bench. Meanwhile, Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail dissented, maintaining PTI's claim to 39 seats and urging reallocation to include the party. A previous majority judgment had required independent candidates to clarify their political affiliations through notarised statements, leading to provisional recognition of some as PTI members. However, in the final review, Justices Muhammad Ali Mazhar and Syed Hasan Azhar Rizvi revised their earlier positions and supported the review petitions. They directed the ECP to re-examine the nomination papers and affiliation declarations of all 80 returned candidates and issue decisions on the eligibility of reserved seats within 15 days. The reallocation of these seats has reshaped legislative dynamics at the federal and provincial levels, marking a dramatic shift in parliamentary representation just months after the general elections.


Business Recorder
5 hours ago
- Business Recorder
Dalai Lama says he will have successor after his death
MCLEOD GANJ: The Dalai Lama said Wednesday that the 600-year-old Tibetan spiritual institution would continue after his death, reassuring Buddhist followers around the globe and saying his office 'exclusively' would name his successor, even as China insisted it would. Followers of the Dalai Lama laud his tireless campaign for greater autonomy for Tibet, a vast high-altitude plateau in China about the size of South Africa. It is a landmark decision for Tibetans, many of whom had feared a future without a leader, as well as for global supporters who see the Dalai Lama as a symbol of non-violence, compassion and the enduring struggle for Tibetan cultural identity under Chinese rule. According to Tibetans, Tenzin Gyatso is the 14th reincarnation of the Dalai Lama. He and thousands of other Tibetans have lived in exile in India since Chinese troops crushed an uprising in the Tibetan capital Lhasa in 1959. The charismatic Nobel Peace Prize-winning Buddhist had previously said the institution of Dalai Lama would continue only if there was popular demand. He said Wednesday he had received multiple appeals over the past 14 years from the Tibetan diaspora, Buddhists from across the Himalayan region, Mongolia and parts of Russia and China, 'earnestly requesting that the institution of the Dalai Lama continue'. 'In particular, I have received messages through various channels from Tibetans in Tibet making the same appeal,' he said in a video broadcast at the start of a meeting of religious leaders in the Indian Himalayan town where he has lived for decades. 'In accordance with all these requests, I am affirming that the institution of the Dalai Lama will continue,' he added, according to an official translation. The announcement was made ahead of his 90th birthday on July 6. 'Historic' While China condemns him as a rebel and separatist, the internationally recognised Dalai Lama describes himself as a 'simple Buddhist monk'. Many exiled Tibetans fear China will name its own successor to bolster control over a territory it poured troops into in 1950. But the Dalai Lama said Wednesday that responsibility for identifying the 15th Dalai Lama 'will rest exclusively' with the India-based Gaden Phodrang Trust, the office of the Dalai Lama. Samdhong Rinpoche, a senior Tibetan leader from the Gaden Phodrang Trust, told reporters that the Dalai Lama was 'in excellent health' and that, at this time, there were 'no further instructions for succession'. However, Rinpoche said the next Dalai Lama could be of 'any nationality', and would come from a place where there is 'access to freedom'. China said on Wednesday that the reincarnation of the Dalai Lama 'must be approved by the central government' in Beijing, and that it would be carried out 'by drawing lots from a golden urn', foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning told reporters. That urn is held by Beijing, and the Dalai Lama has already warned that, when used dishonestly, it lacks 'any spiritual quality'. The Dalai Lama handed over political authority in 2011 to an exiled government chosen democratically by 130,000 Tibetans globally. At the same time, he warned that the future of his spiritual post faced an 'obvious risk of vested political interests misusing the reincarnation system'. In 1995, Beijing selected a Panchen Lama, another influential Tibetan religious figure, and detained a Dalai Lama-recognised six-year-old, described by rights groups as the world's youngest political prisoner. The Dalai Lama's announcement about the continuation of the role was welcomed with relief by Tibetans, including by Jigme Taydeh, a civil servant with the India-based Tibetan government. 'Whilst we rejoice at this confirmation of its continuation, we stringently object to China's interference and plans to install a puppet Dalai Lama', he said. 'Neither the Tibetans nor the world would recognise such mischief.'