Sindh to ban old buses after completing mass transit system

Sindh’s transport minister said on Sunday that old and ramshackle private passenger buses will not be allowed to operate in Karachi after the completion of the modern mass transit system in the city.

Addressing a news conference, Sharjeel Inam Memon said the decision of the provincial government has been conveyed to the representative associations of the operators of public transport services in the city.

Memon said the operators of the existing private bus services in the city have been advised to join hands to form a consortium to collectively make investments to bring modern buses to facilitate the daily commute of the residents of Karachi.

He said the Sindh government is ready to facilitate Karachi’s bus operators by all means in this regard, including providing them with the facility of a subsidy.

He claimed that thousands of modern buses are being brought into the city, saying that prospective investors belonging to Turkey and China have been contacted with the request to set up bus assembly plants in Sindh.

He also said that local people will become the ultimate beneficiaries of such assembly plants established in the province because they will get employment opportunities.

He added that after the commencement of the test drive, the new bus services in Karachi and Larkana under the Sindh Peoples Intra-District Bus Service will formally begin this month. The minister said the Orange Line section of the bus rapid transit service (BRTS) will also begin its service in Karachi this month.

He told the media that work is being expeditiously done to build the Red Line corridor of the BRTS in Karachi, saying that funds for the purpose have been provided by the Asian Development Bank.

He also said that an investment proposal has been received by the Sindh government to build the Blue Line section of the BRTS in the city. Memon said the provincial government will initiate modern mass transportation services for people in the entire province. He said that in the next stage, a state-of-the-art BRTS project will be launched in Hyderabad.

He told the media that Pakistan Peoples Party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has asked the relevant provincial authorities to launch modern public transport services all over the province without any discrimination.

He said Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah is committed to releasing as much funds as required to launch decent and modern transportation facilities in the province. The transport minister asked the business community of the country to investment in the transport sector. He said the Sindh government will launch a one-window operation to facilitate investment so that prospective investors do not face any problems.

Political situation

Commenting on the current political situation in the country, Memon said ousted prime minister Imran Khan has been treading a dangerous path to cause anarchy in the country.

He said the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman has been trying to conspire against state institutions. He added that the PTI has been using a false narrative to provoke people against the government.

He also said that never in the 75-year history of the country has any former PM uttered such remarks. He added that Khan’s current struggle has a single objective of grabbing power again by any means.

Memon said Khan is on a dangerous mission and has been running a campaign to defame state institutions, adding that nothing like this has been seen before. He said the ex-premier is fortunate that state institutions have become neutral and are not willing to interfere in politics, otherwise “had any other political party used in the past the language being used by him [Khan], it would have been ruined”.