A delegation of 34 officers participating in the 29th Public Policy and Governance Course of Punjab, being conducted for promotion from BS-18 to BS-19, called on Chief Secretary Sindh Syed Asif Hyder Shah during its study visit to Sindh.
According to an official information today, welcoming the delegation, the Chief Secretary said that Sindh had undertaken several landmark initiatives in the fields of energy, housing, public safety, infrastructure, public-private partnerships, disaster management, and social development. He said that projects such as Thar Coal and the Sindh People’s Housing for Flood Affectees initiative were outstanding examples of long-term public sector vision, institutional coordination, and development-oriented governance. He added that the province had developed a structured disaster management and emergency response system through the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) and Rescue 1122, while efforts were also underway to upgrade fire and rescue services across Sindh.
Shah said that Sindh had made significant progress in public-private partnerships (PPP). He noted that the province had initially implemented PPP projects in the road sector, later expanded the model to the health sector, and was now moving towards major and more complex projects in the water sector.
He said that PPP had emerged as an important instrument for delivering public infrastructure and services in a financially sustainable manner. During the visit, the delegation received detailed briefings from Sindh Police, the Planning and Development Department, and the Sindh People’s Housing Foundation (SPHF). The briefing session was attended by the Chairman of the Planning and Development Board, the Additional Inspector General of Police Karachi, the Chief Executive Officer of the Sindh People’s Housing Foundation, and other senior officials. The Sindh Police briefing covered institutional strength, crime trends, operations against organised crime, policing in the Kacha areas, public service delivery, Safe City initiatives, highway patrol, investigation reforms, police welfare, health insurance, and future policing priorities.
The delegation was informed that Sindh Police is the second-largest police organisation in Pakistan, with a sanctioned strength of 170,696 personnel, a working strength of 134,234, 31 districts, 618 police stations, and an annual budget of Rs. 193.1 billion. The delegation was further informed that major crime indicators across the province had improved, with terrorism-related major incidents reduced to zero in 2025 and 2026. Incidents of dacoity, robbery, vehicle snatching, and motorcycle snatching had also shown a declining trend. According to the briefing, Karachi’s street crime fell by 9.59 percent between January 1 and June 22, 2026, compared with the corresponding period in 2025. Violent incidents during robberies in Karachi also declined, with the number of people killed or injured in such incidents falling by 38.83 percent.
The Planning and Development Department briefed the delegation on Sindh’s development framework, institutional mandate, Annual Development Programme (ADP) formulation, project approvals, monitoring mechanisms, digital governance, international development partnerships, and reform agenda. Officials informed the delegation that Sindh has a population of approximately 55.7 million, is Pakistan’s most urbanised province with nearly 54 percent of its population living in urban areas, and has the country’s second-largest provincial economy. They added that the Planning and Development Department serves as the province’s central planning authority and approves provincially funded development schemes worth up to Rs. 10 billion through the provincial forum.
The delegation was informed that the department had digitised the province’s development portfolio through the Sindh Development Portfolio Management System and the Budget Book Management System. Officials said the formulation of the ADP 2026-27 had been made fully digital for the first time in the province’s history, ensuring greater transparency, traceability, and evidence-based planning. The Planning and Development Department also informed the delegation that 27 foreign-funded projects, with a combined value of Rs. 1,942.76 billion, were currently under implementation in Sindh.
Foreign Project Assistance accounts for approximately 88 percent of the active portfolio, while the Government of Sindh provides the remaining share. The province is working with major development partners, including the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank, the Islamic Development Bank, the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), Agence Française de Développement (AFD), the European Union, USAID, JICA, United Nations agencies, and the Green Climate Fund. The Sindh People’s Housing Foundation briefed the delegation on the Sindh People’s Housing for Flood Affectees initiative, describing it as the world’s largest housing programme. Officials said the project has a funding portfolio of approximately US$2.2 billion and is being implemented with the support of international partners.
The delegation was informed that 1.65 million bank accounts had been opened, 1.6 million houses were under construction, and one million houses had already been completed under the project. Officials said the initiative was not only providing climate-resilient housing to flood-affected families but was also promoting financial inclusion, women’s empowerment, and livelihood generation on an unprecedented scale.
The SPHF briefing highlighted that the project represented one of the largest asset-transfer initiatives in Pakistan’s history, particularly benefiting women. Officials further informed the delegation that the housing initiative had created around one million jobs, established 39,345 Village Reconstruction Committees, and brought millions of families into the formal financial system through bank accounts. During the question-and-answer session, members of the delegation said they had witnessed remarkable and commendable progress in Sindh’s housing, Thar Coal, and public-private partnership projects during their visit. They observed, however, that these significant achievements had not received the recognition they deserved.
In response, Shah said that the Thar Coal and Sindh People’s Housing projects were historic initiatives of the Government of Sindh and should be effectively projected and promoted not only at the provincial level but also nationally so that Sindh’s development model could receive wider recognition across the country. The delegation thanked the Chief Secretary and the concerned departments for the comprehensive briefings and appreciated the Government of Sindh’s initiatives in public policy, governance, development planning, policing, housing, and institutional reforms.