SUKKUR: Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah has expressed his pleasure over successful operation of solar energy system at Sukkur’s IBA (Institute of Business Administration) University and noted that with the active cooperation and assistance of Sindh government, the institution was now generating 1,000 kilowatts to meet its requirement.

He said the solar energy system was helping the Sindh government save Rs2 million a month on account of expenditure on electric supply.

Mr Shah was addressing the faculty and fresh graduates and post-graduates at the university’s seventh convocation held on its campus on Saturday.

He, along with Vice Chancellor Prof Nisar Ahmed Siddiqi gave away degrees to some of the 235 successful students and gold, silver and bronze medals to position-holders.

Parents of IBA University students also attended the convocation in a large number.

Tells graduating IBA students to help nation overcome energy crisis

The chief minister exhorted the successful students to work hard in their respective fields with the spirit of nation building so that the country could progress and prosper. He particularly advised the fresh engineers to put in their all-out efforts in helping the nation make full use of alternative energy sources to save foreign exchange and overcome energy crisis. He said other academic institutions should follow the example of Sukkur IBA University in offering higher education in the discipline of alternative energy.

Referring to the mega project of Thar coal, Mr Shah expressed his confidence that the entire country would be able to meet its electricity requirement from this project very soon.

Appreciating the progress made by the Sukkur IBA, the chief minister recalled that it had started providing education in a two-classroom structure with the affiliation of Karachi IBA in 1990 and within a short span of time became a major institution of the country and proved itself fit for being upgraded to the status of a university which was given to it in 2017.

CM Shah also expressed his pleasure over the fact that 70 per cent students of this institution belonged to the low-income group.

He also lauded the competence and efficiency of the university’s faculty in conducting eligibility tests of around 60,000 candidates for recruitment in various departments on a merit basis.

He said a state-of-the-art lab would be established at the university with the assistance and cooperation of Sindh government.

He said the role of [senior Pakistan Peoples Party leader] Syed Khursheed Shah in the development and progress of Sukkur IBA could not be forgotten.

Earlier, Syed Murad Ali Shah inaugurated a flower exhibition on the university’s campus.

Sindh Minister for Energy Imtiaz Ahmed Sheikh, Adviser to the CM Aijaz Ali Shah Sheerazi, MNA Noman Islam Sheikh, MPA Syed Farrukh Shah and senior officials of various departments attended the convocation and flower show.

‘Aziz Memon’s family will get justice’

DADU: The chief minister also visited Gaincha village in Sehwan taluka on Saturday where he faced local reporters’ queries regarding progress of the investigation into senior journalist Aziz Memon’s mysterious death.

The body of Mr Memon, who worked for Sindhi news channel KTN and newspaper Kawish, was found floating in a canal in Naushahro Feroze last Sunday. The journalist community across the province held protest demonstrations over the last week to demand a fair investigation into the incident. He had reported some issues that had displeased the PPP.

The chief minister told local reporters that the PPP had explained its position vis-a-vis false impressions by clarifying that it had nothing to do with the incident. He said his cabinet colleagues Saeed Ghani and Sohail Anwar Siyal visited the bereaved family to condole his death and helped them lodge an FIR as per their wishes.

He held out the assurance that the mystery behind Mr Memon’s death would be resolved soon by police and his family would be provided justice if it turned out to be a murder.

He said PPP believed in freedom of press and journalists had been treated fairly in every PPP government.

MNA Sikandar Rahpoto, Amanuallah Shahani, Hyderabad Commissioner Abbas Baloch, Jamshoro DC retired Captain Fareeduddin Mustafa, DIG Naeem Shaikh and other police officials accompanied the CM.

Published in Dawn, February 23rd, 2020