HYDERABAD - Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Asad Umar Saturday said a mega development package for the city on lines of Karachi package would be worked out soon.

“We have discussed the projects required for development of Hyderabad during my today’s visit,” he said this while addressing a press conference at the zonal office of Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) here yesterday.

The minister particularly pointed out the federal university project, which was being established in Kohsar, Latifabad and said that the land acquisition was a stumbling block in timely completion of the project.

“I will meet Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah on Monday and take up this issue as well,” he told, underlining the need of providing greater higher education facilities to the youth in the area. He apprised that the Engineering Support Center of the Federal Ministry of Industries had been established in Hyderabad to support the industries especially motorbike, bangles and others.

“The manifestos of MQM-P and PTI are improving lives of the people and this is why in the last federal budget, some schemes for Hyderabad included,” he said.

“If you check the streets in Karachi and Hyderabad you will not find the basic facilities which are the provincial government’s onus. Therefore, the federal government felt the need for those smaller schemes,” he explained.

Umar told that he had discussed with the opposition leader in the Sindh Assembly MPA, Firdous Shamim Naqvi and MQM-P’s representatives that the center wanted to get approved a big package for Hyderabad on the lines of the Karachi package in collaboration with the provincial government.

He said the prospect of launching mutual mega development projects in Hyderabad being the largest city after Karachi, as well under a joint strategy.

The minister said during his interaction with Hyderabad’s business community, the latter acknowledged that the problems they had been confronting were under purview of the provincial government which had failed to address them.

“Who holds the reins of power in Sindh. Aren’t these the same people whose financial resources have kept increasing but at the same time the problems of the people are also building up?” he questioned.

Responding to a query about arrest of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s leader, Capt (r) Safdar after October 18 rally of Pakistan Democratic Movement in Karachi, the minister said the way he was apprehended was uncalled for.

“Will anyone tell if the federal government got any benefit or loss from Safdar’s arrest. If the latter is true then why will the center do this?” he asked.

He also questioned why the people were not raising the question that the sanctity of Quaid-e-Azam’s mausoleum was violated when the political slogans were raised there.

Commenting on the PML-N’s assertion that the PTI’s government would not complete the ongoing year 2020 in power, he said the people making the predictions were the same who used to say they own no property in the UK or even in Pakistan.