1.5 Lakh People Will Get Employment From Karachi Islands: Sindh Governor

Sindh Governor Imran Ismail said that the project of Bundal and Buddu Islands in Karachi will be commenced after removing the concerns of the Sindh government and it would provide employment to 1.5 lakh people.

Addressing a press conference in Karachi, the Sindh Governor said that the only reason for the Prime Minister’s vision for this project is that Pakistan should get foreign Investment, Pakistan needs for foreign investment, Ravi River City and Bundal Island are two big projects for Pakistan at the moment.

He said that “no one should think that the right of Sindh is being usurped but Sindh is being given its right. These islands will remain in Sindh and they cannot be taken anywhere else.”

Imran Ismail said that the capital and income of these islands will go to the government of Sindh and will be spent in Sindh and this guarantee has been given by the Prime Minister and he had asked me to go and inform Sindh government.

Claiming large-scale employment, he said, “More than 1.5 million jobs will be generated.

“Because of these islands, tourism in Sindh will increase. There is no development in our coastal strip, so there is no tourism.

The Governor of Sindh said that “all facilities will be provided in these islands, this is a project after which we will be able to compete with any other island in the world including Dubai”.

“We have to work with the Sindh government to address all their concerns. The Prime Minister asked me to send a message to the Sindh government that all of their concerns will be addressed,” he said.

“We want the Sindh government to come into full coordination and partnership with the federation in this project so that we can come up with an integrated plan,” he said.

Imran Ismail said, “Unless we are on the same page, this project cannot be successful. If the Sindh government has reservations about the ordinance, it can be discussed. If there are concerns over the environment and capital, it can also be discussed.”

Earlier, Prime Minister Imran Khan had directed Sindh Governor Imran Ismail to resolve the issue in consultation with the provincial government.

A statement from the Prime Minister’s Office said that in a meeting with the Governor of Sindh, the Prime Minister said that the Karachi islands project would create ample investment and employment opportunities.

According to the statement, the chairman of the Pakistan Island Development Authority, which was formed through a controversial presidential ordinance, was also present, despite the fact that no one has been appointed to the post so far.

It may be recalled that without taking Parliament into confidence, President Arif Alvi had enacted the Pakistan Islands Development Authority Ordinance 2020 to help the Federal Government take control of the two islands off the coast of Karachi.

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The aim is to develop these islands into a permanent process of rehabilitation, master planning, urban planning and to develop these two islands as commercial, logistical centres, duty-free areas and international tourist destinations.

The implementation of the PIDA Ordinance was strongly criticized by the ruling Pakistan People’s Party in Sindh and the decision was rejected.

PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari had termed the move as tantamount to the illegal annexation of occupied Kashmir by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The Sindh government had termed the move as “illegal annexation of Sindh islands by the PTI government through a presidential ordinance”.

The PPP chairman alleged that the federal government wanted to annex the islands owned by the province in order to reap financial benefits by allowing its friendly investors to build other such projects, including housing and tourism.

he said that this is an exploitation of the people of the province while under the 18th amendment these islands were handed over to the provinces.