SUKKUR: Sindh Senior Minister for Information, Transport and Mass Transit Sharjeel Inam Memon inaugurated Sukkur-Shikarpur service of the Peoples Bus Service at a ceremony in Shikarpur on Friday.

Addressing the ceremony, he congratulated the people of the upper Sindh districts on the launch of the six-bus fleet to be run on this route.

He said these hybrid diesel-engine buses would provide a safe, comfortable and speedy travel facility to passengers.

Sharjeel Memon announced that passengers would be charged only 50pc of fare as the Sindh government would bear the rest. “This new service is a gift for the people of this area from President Asif Ali Zardari and Pakistan Peoples Party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari,” he said.

Two hundred free Pink Scooties distributed among female students, women workers

He said these buses are for people and they should own and take care of them.

The minister said that the Sindh government was providing all possible assistance and services to the general public even amid the crisis situation in the country. In this regard, he referred to the prevailing global fuel crisis, and pointed out that the Sindh government has already announced a Rs2,000 monthly assistance as subsidy for motorcycle owners.

Development works

Highlighting performance of the provincial government, he said that record development works had been carried out in the recent past.

“The PPP is working for every segment of society,” he said, and criticised its opponents for having resorted to conducting a media trial of the party and propaganda against its government.

“We are also providing free home solar systems to households in the rural areas of Sindh and working day and night for development in Shikarpur district,” he said.

The minister pointed out that wheat growers owning fewer than 25 acres of land have been registered and being provided free DAP and urea to ensure an increased production.

Recently, more than 300,000 farmers were given a subsidy of Rs1,500 per acre for operating threshers. The assistance has already been disbursed, he added.

He claimed that in rural areas of Sindh, the roads built and maintained by the provincial government “are among the best in the country”.

“Sindh has some of the best hospitals in the country; facilities at autism centres meet international standards,” he said.

The minister noted that an announcement to provide free pink scooties to women has already been made and this is another major step towards empowering women and facilitating their travel.

200 Pink Scooties distributed

Two hundred free ‘Pink Scooties’ were distributed among girl students and women workers at a ceremony held in a hall in Sukkur on Friday.

The programme was organised by the Department of Transport and Mass Transit.

It was attended by a large number of PPP ministers and lawmakers, as well as other political figures and civil society activists. Families of the beneficiary girls and women were also present.

Addressing the ceremony, Sindh Senior Minister for Transport and Mass Transit Sharjeel Inam Memon said that the Sindh government and PPP, under the leadership of President Asif Ali Zardari, Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari and Faryal Talpur were serving the public at large.

He recalled that Quaid-i-Awam Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto worked for women empowerment, and Shaheed Benazir Bhutto established women police stations, set up the First Women Bank and launched the Lady Health Workers Programme.

President Asif Ali Zardari, he added, launched the historic Benazir Income Support Programme, which is now being praised by the IMF and World Bank.

He said that Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari initiated the world’s largest housing project under which the Sindh government was providing free houses to 2.1 million families with ownership rights being given to women.

Memon said that Sindh is the first province to have introduced EV buses and the Pink Bus Service with female drivers. He said Sindh was providing women with free EV scooties along with helmets, licence and training — all free of cost.

Earlier, he pointed out, there were only 150 women in Sindh who possessed motorcycle driving licence, but now around 20,000 had applied for the same.

“There is no donor agency involved in this project,” he said, adding that no recommendation is needed to acquire a Pink Scooty. “If you have a driving licence and proof of employment, you will get a Pink Scooty free of cost,” he said.

He said registration of the Pink Scooty has also been made free.

MPA Syed Farrukh Shah described the scooty distribution as a significant step toward women’s progress.

MNA Shazia Sobia Aslam Soomro and Syed Javed Ali Shah also emphasised women’s empowerment in their speeches.

MNA Nauman Islam Sheikh stated that in this era of inflation, the Sindh government is providing affordable travel facilities to the public.

Minister for Excise Mukesh Kumar Chawla said that the free scooty scheme would greatly benefit both working women and female students.

Minister for Local Government Syed Nasir Hussain Shah noted that practical steps are being taken for women’s development in line with the vision of PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari. The Pink Scooties would be provided to all applicants on a merit basis, he added.

Sindh Assembly Speaker Syed Owais Qadir Shah congratulated the Sindh chief minister and his team for this initiative, “which is a major milestone in empowering women”. He called for an increase in the number of scooties being distributed under the scheme.

Among others present at the ceremony were MNA Syed Khurshid Ahmed Shah, Sukkur Mayor Arsalan Islam Sheikh, Sukkur District Council Chairman Syed Kumail Haider Shah and former provincial minister Imdad Pitafi.

Sindh Mass Transit Managing Director Kanwal Nizam Bhutto, vice chancellors of the IBA, Aror and Begum Nusrat Bhutto universities and Sukkur Deputy Commissioner Nadir Shehzad Khan also attended the programme.

Published in Dawn, April 18th, 2026