KARACHI: The Sindh government has decided to utilise Rs 250 million received from the federal government out of the Zakat fund for the construction of low-cost houses in the flood-affected areas of the province.

The decision was taken at a meeting of Sindh Zakat and Ushr Department (SZUD) chaired by Sindh Chief Minister (CM) Qaim Ali Shah at the Chief Minister’s House on Friday.

The federal government has provided Rs 250 million to the Sindh SZUD for relief measures.

It was proposed in the meeting to build 1,000 to 2,000 houses in the eight most-affected districts.

It was envisaged that the process was long term for which a comprehensive strategy would be evolved, and the required funds would be spent in a judicious and transparent manner.

It was decided that besides government officers, elected representatives, retired senior judges and members of opposition parties would also be included in the committees to be formed in this regard.

The meeting was attended by Sindh Zakat Minister Muhammad Sajid Jokhio, Sindh Zakat Council Chairman Justice Zahid Qurban Alvi, Zakat department secretary Ahsan Iqbal Zaidi and others.

By Hanif Khalid
The MNAs and Senators hailing from Fata obtained 14 palatial bungalows from a famous builder of the country by exerting political pressure, it is learnt reliably.
These Fata MPs obtained the bungalows in Bahria Town Phase 111 known as Meadows. Each bungalow has a market value of Rs30 million, which is spread over an area of 1-1/2 kanal to 2 kanal. While three Fata parliamentarians have shifted to these spacious houses. When Bahria Town administration asked the Fate MPs to deposit at least cost value of these houses, they began to blackmail them. The Fata MPs who obtained the ownership rights of these Bungalows in the current week included Fata Parliamentary leader Mr Orakzai and Federal Minister for Environment Hameed ullah Afridi.
Bahria Town administration is quite at a loss, as they could not afford to give the property worth millions free of cost just because of the political clout of these MPs. The Fata MPs who obtained the bungalows include Munir Ahmed Orakzai, Sajid Hussain Toor, Jawwad Hussain, Hafiz Rasheed Ahmed, Zafar Baig Bhittai, Muhammad Kamran Khan, Shaukat ullah, Noor-ul-Haq, Abdul Razzaq, Mr Bilal, Engineer Rashid, Abdul Malik and M Naseer. Most of these MPs have got allotment letters of these houses.