Sindh govt needs to improve governance: Minister on Karachi’s COVID situation

ISLAMABAD: Minister for Information and Broadcasting Fawad Chaudhry has blamed the provincial government of Sindh for the worsening COVID-19 situation in Karachi, saying that the government needs to reflect on its matters and try to improve its governance.

Addressing a post-Cabinet press conference in Islamabad today (Tuesday), the Information Minister noted that the percentage of vaccinated people in Karachi and Hyderabad was low compared to the rest of the country.

“We do not want to criticise the Sindh government but Karachi and Hyderabad are the most behind in vaccination which is why most [Covid-related] problems are there,” the federal minister added.

He further criticized the Sindh government, saying that it was “the most behind” when it came to economic figures and performance in various sectors. “There was a lot of concern because Sindh was a very important province,” he added.

Fawad Chaudhry also said the Centre could not “sit back and watch faces”, adding that it was among the rights of the federal government to bring the provinces’ attention to their governance. “We keep bringing the attention of the Sindh government towards its governance,” he added.

The Information Minister termed PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif’s statement — in which he stressed the need to move on while learning lessons from the past — as a “positive development”.

“I think there are other sincere people in the opposition. If democracy has to remain in this country then we will have to clarify a system in which all people have trust,” he added.

He claimed that some people who were not part of parliament, including Nawaz Sharif and JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman, did not want the democratic system to get better and wanted it to worsen instead.

Sharing other decision taken in the federal cabinet meeting, the minister shared the federal cabinet was also briefed by the chairman of the Capital Development Authority (CDA) regarding the removal of encroachments in sectors E8 and E9 in Islamabad.

He said the prime minister issued “strict directives” regarding the protection of green areas in the capital. “The navy and air force have been told to remove encroachments,” he added.