ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Reforms Asad Umar on Friday said that the Federal government will spend Rs35 billion on various development projects in Karachi this year. Talking to journalists, Asad Umar said that Prime Minister Imran Khan is committed to uplift living standards of the people in the port city.

He said that Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) is a key government ally in Sindh, adding that the federal government working on uplift projects in consultation with its allied parties. The minister said that the provincial government did nothing for the city.  He vowed to allocate more funds for the port city in the next budget. “We [the PTI] are working for the people of Karachi, with the MQM-P as a partner,” he said. Both the PTI and the MQM-P are striving for development projects in Karachi and the stark reality is that what the mega-city deserves is not being given to it," he said. Umar had earlier claimed that progress had been made in talks after an earlier meeting with the MQM-P's leaders. The ruling PTI is making continuous efforts to persuade the disgruntled Karachi-based party to return to the federal cabinet — the latter had announced in January to quit over 'unfulfilled promises'.

Responding to a question on the coronavirus fear, Umar said it was too early to make a comment on its impact on the pace of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), with the country's consul general in Lahore, Long Dingbin, telling Geo.tv a day prior that the two friendly nations were tackling the epidemic. Earlier on February 6, yet another round of talks between the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf and its disgruntled ally Muttahida Qaumi Movement – Pakistan (MQM-P) had come to an end with the two sides seeming to be in agreement on the resolution of civic issues troubling the port city. Speaking to media after the meeting, Planning Minister Asad Umar had regretted the metropolis had been ignored for years. Stressing that the city has an important role in the country’s economic growth, he had said it was entitled to uplift schemes. NNI