Karachi; Friday, January 07, 2022: Federal Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication (MoITT) launches 2 more projects of high speed mobile broadband services (NGBSD) for un-served and under-served areas of 4 more districts of Sindh. The projects to be completed in a short span of 12 months have been assigned to Jazz Network at a total cost of Rs, 698 million. The signing ceremony was held at a local hotel in Karachi on Friday. Federal Minister for Planning and Development Asad Umar and Federal Minister for Information Technology and Telecommunications Syed Amin-Ul-Haq graced the occasion while Consul Generals of different countries, MQM MNA Sheikh Salahuddin, Jazz Chief Commercial Officer Asif Aziz and a large number of Business & Social Communities attended the ceremony. The agreement for the 2 projects was signed by Haaris Mahmood Chaudhry, Chief Executive Officer, Universal Service Fund (USF) and Mudassar Hussain, Vice President, Jazz Network.
Addressing the ceremony, Federal Minister Syed Amin-Ul-Haq said that the 1st project of providing high speed mobile broadband services at a cost of Rs, 246 Million to provide 359 Un-served and Under-served Mauzas of Kambar Shahdadkot and Larkana, while the 2nd project worth Rs, 451 Million to provide NGBSD of 438 Mauzas of Naushahro Feroze & Shaheed Benazirabad Districts. Syed Amin-Ul-Haq said that under the Ministry of IT and Telecommunication, 9 projects in Sindh at a cost of Rs8.48 billion are already in the process of completion. Under these projects, 3,227 Mauzas from 19 districts of the province are being connected to the digital network so that the life of the common man can be improved.
On this occasion, Syed Amin Ul Haq sharply criticized the Sindh government and said, “The corrupt PPP government does not carry out development work in the province itself and does not allow anyone to do it; they are in danger that the people of Sindh will get convenience and development. So let them not stand against the old system. In all other provinces, health, education, transport and other projects are started by the provincial governments but Sindh wants to run away from its responsibility by criticizing the federation in every matter.”
“The actions of the Sindh government are black, so are their amendments in the local government system a black law which we will not accept under any circumstances. Then there will be protests on the streets and it will be intense. He announced that a big protest would be held next week under the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQMP) against the black local government law,” he added.
In his address, Federal Minister for Planning and Development Asad Umar lauded the performance of the Ministry of IT and said that there is no doubt that the role of the Ministry of IT is becoming more and more prominent in this age of technology. Whether it is exporting or providing mobile and internet services across the country, the Ministry of IT is working in four directions.
“Digital and GPS technology would be used for the census so that this time there would be no chance of rigging or low counting in the census. “When we talk about the use of technology in agriculture, health, education or any other sector, the opposition supports it, but when it comes to using the same technology in elections, as EVM they feel bad about everything,” he said. This is because the opposition knows that the use of technology will eliminate the traditional tactics of rigging their votes,” said Asad Umar.
Earlier in his welcome address, Haaris Mahmood Chaudhry, Chief Executive of USF, while giving details about the performance of USF and two new projects for Sindh, said that as per the directives of Federal Minister Syed Amin Ul Haq, All projects will be completed within the stipulated time frame with high standard and quality.
In his speech, Asif Aziz, Chief Commercial Officer, Jazz said, “Providing reliable mobile broadband to all our fellow citizens remains a key priority at Jazz. Through this collaboration with USF, 719 un-served mauzas of rural Sindh will be able to access high speed mobile broadband which will unlock unlimited socio-economic opportunities for the residents.” He also warned that the country is in a state of digital emergency and the proposed move to increase WHT on telecom users and a 17 percent sales tax on smartphones and laptops will further push the country behind its global peers.
