Sindh Senior Minister Sharjeel Inam Memon announced during a Sindh Assembly session on Monday that the provincial government has approved the procurement of 500 electric vehicle buses under a public-private partnership initiative, responding to concerns raised by Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan lawmaker Naseer Ahmed, who highlighted the lack of public transport in Karachi’s Manghopir area and called on the government to introduce transportation services for residents there. The announcement reflects the Sindh government’s stated intent to modernise the province’s public transport infrastructure through electric mobility, at a time when urban commuters across Karachi and other Sindh cities continue to face chronic shortages of affordable and accessible transit options.
Responding to the concerns raised on the floor of the assembly, Sharjeel Memon said the government was expanding the transport network and would soon launch bus services in Orangi, Banaras, and several other areas of Karachi. The minister’s remarks indicated that the expansion was not limited to the city’s more central corridors but was intended to extend into densely populated peripheral neighbourhoods that have historically been underserved by formal public transit systems. Memon further stated that the overall bus network across Sindh was being widened, and the provincial government was actively working on addressing the transport gaps that had been highlighted during the session.
Beyond Karachi, the senior minister informed the assembly that the provincial government had also initiated new transport routes in Tando Allah Yar, Khairpur, and Rohri, while a new route in Karachi’s Gulshan-e-Maymar had already become operational. The inclusion of interior Sindh cities in the expansion plan signals a broader provincial push to extend public transport access beyond the metropolitan centre, addressing connectivity gaps in smaller urban centres that have long depended on informal and often unreliable commuting arrangements. The move toward electric buses under a public-private partnership model also aligns with the broader national direction on sustainable urban transport, with several provincial governments across Pakistan exploring electrification as a cost-effective and environmentally conscious alternative to conventional diesel-powered fleets.
The session also saw Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan lawmaker Maaz Mehboob raise a separate but pressing concern, highlighting the widespread sale of gutka and drugs in several areas of Karachi, including his own constituency, and alleging that such activities were taking place under police patronage. Addressing the Sindh Home Minister Zia Lanjar directly, Mehboob called on him to visit his constituency to witness the situation firsthand. The remarks added to a session that touched on multiple pressing urban governance issues, with public transport and law enforcement both emerging as areas where lawmakers are pressing the provincial administration for more visible and sustained action.
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