Sindh Paperwork Halts Karachi’s 150-Bus Plan

Nadeem Tanoli

Islamabad: The federal government informed Parliament that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s announcement to provide 150 buses for Karachi’s public transport system has stalled entirely—not due to federal delays but because the Sindh government has failed to submit the required project document.

Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal Chaudhry told lawmakers that despite the Prime Minister’s instructions during his April 25, 2024 visit to Karachi, the Planning Commission has yet to receive a PC-I for the 150 buses. Without the formal proposal, he said, the federal government cannot determine a delivery timeline.

He revealed that Sindh’s Planning & Development Department did submit a separate PC-I for 300 diesel-hybrid buses, but it was returned twice because it was classified as a provincial project, falling outside federal jurisdiction.

“As no PC-I has been received for the 150 buses, a delivery schedule cannot be provided,” the Minister told Parliament, shifting responsibility squarely onto the Sindh government.

The clarification sparked criticism over bureaucratic inefficiency and poor coordination between provincial and federal authorities, despite Karachi’s urgent need for improved mass transit.

In a separate briefing, Ahsan Iqbal updated the House on the status of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

He confirmed that eight CPEC projects worth USD 759.56 million are currently under implementation, while 43 projects totaling USD 24.7 billion have been completed across multiple sectors. Province-wise details of ongoing schemes were provided in an annex.

The Minister emphasized that a comprehensive monitoring framework is already functioning. The Ministry of Planning operates a dedicated CPEC Secretariat for cross-departmental coordination, while the Minister chairs fortnightly inter-ministerial review meetings to track progress, address bottlenecks, and ensure timely decisions.

Despite these systems, opposition members pointed to ongoing delays and inconsistent progress, urging faster execution to boost investor confidence and economic recovery.

The disclosures highlighted contrasting realities in Pakistan’s development landscape: a major public transport commitment for the country’s largest city stuck at the paperwork stage, and gradual—but uneven—movement on CPEC, the country’s flagship infrastructure programme.

The government also outlined education-related initiatives in the Annual Plan 2025–26 to address systemic decline, including renewed focus on free and compulsory education, girls’ education, and the expansion of Daanish Schools in underdeveloped districts.

Under the broader 5Es Framework, the URAAN Pakistan initiative aims to align education reforms with long-term economic transformation.