A great responsibility has fallen on the people of Thar; it is the responsibility to change the economy of Pakistan. I am not saying this; rather, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari are saying that despite the country's political, economic, and judicial corruption, they have put this responsibility on the people of Thar and left them aware. They said that whatever needs to be done for Pakistan, the people of Thar have to do it. I did not realize this at first, but when one or two friends called me and informed me of the great responsibility, then I realized it. Shehbaz Sharif and Bilawal Bhutto Zardari are the heads and elected representatives of two major parties in the country and are currently in the government.
Being a democrat, I have respect for both leaders, but I and the people of Thar have some questions about the way they started the fire.
Accept that Thar will change the state of the country because of its coal, but who will change the state of Thar? Because the people of Thar are not getting anything from this coal project, and it is difficult to get anything in the future. Development in Thar and some other exhibition talk in its place, but the ground reality has not changed. A good road has been constructed from Karachi to Islamkot or Thar Coalfield. This road was not built for the people of Thar but actually to provide infrastructure to the coal project, which was built to facilitate the second car trade with the project companies. If the people of Thar get any financial benefit from this, it is actually an additional thing because there is no good road network in any area of the rest of Thar. So much so that the taluk headquarters are cut off from each other and, in some cases, even from my district headquarters Mithi. Bakhtawar Airport of Islamkot is included in the development of Thar. Who will be able to benefit from this airport today or even in the next five years? Similarly, Farsh Canal water has been delivered to Vaya Nabi Sir Thar, but this water has not been delivered to Thar or the people of Thar, but to the coal-fired power house. Billions of rupees have been spent on this scheme.
There are coal-fired powerhouses in Thar, but the electricity generated in Thar from the resources of Thar has not been given to Thar. Hardly 5% of the population of Thar has access to electricity. The electricity generated in Thar is included in the national grid. When the gas came out of Sai, it was available to the whole country, but it was not available to Sai and Quetta for about half a century. As Sindh Engro started generating electricity at home, the government came up with a plan to install solar panels on their cars. It means that there is no contribution to electricity generated from coal. They should turn to the sun for their electricity. The surprising thing is that one powerhouse was built in Thar, after that, another powerhouse was also built, but electricity did not reach the common people of Thar. Six years ago, a loan was taken from the World Bank to provide electricity to Tharin, so we are happy to install solar panels on them. Lists of villages and houses of Thar were asked from the members of the assembly. In the preparation of such lists, the members of the assembly took reprimands from people for entering the houses, but the project has not yet been implemented. It is surprising that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Minister of Foreign Affairs Bilawal Bhutto Zardari did not mention the pending project of providing electricity.
