Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Shibli Faraz said on Monday that city administrator, Pakistan Army and the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) will oversee execution of development projects in the Sindh capital under the Karachi transformation initiative. 

To be honest, Shibli told the media in Islamabad, the federal government does not trust the Sindh government therefore it has not handed over funds to the provincial government. He said the federal government would contribute Rs611 billion to the package for transformation of Karachi. He said the total amount reserved for the project is Rs1,100 billion and Rs254 billion from this amount will be spent on cleaning of drains and removal of encroachments from parts of the city. He said that rains exposed the Sindh government in Karachi. He said there was a huge trust deficit between the federal government and the Sindh government and the provincial government is responsible for this trust deficit. He said the Sindh government apparently did not use NFC Awards. 

Answering a question about creation of a new province in Punjab, the minister said that Southern Punjab Secretariat had been set up in Multan and it would be operated from Bahawalpur. 

Answering a question, Shibli said the incumbent federal government led by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) is not printing new currency notes. He said gone are the days when government used to print new currency notes. 

Criticising the opposition, Shibli said it had been PML-N leaders’ policy to keep quiet during NAB hearing and becomes active as soon as they come out of the NAB offices. He said that PML-N leader and former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi should answer the questions he was asked instead of hurling threats.