Karachi: Foreign Minister and Chairman of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Bilawal Bhutto Zardari hinted at quitting the federal government over promises of giving relief to flood victims of Sindh.
Speaking at the inaugural ceremony of the Seed Subsidy programme under the Benazir Income Support Programme (BSIP) for flood-affected farmers in Karachi on Sunday, the foreign minister also objected to the manner the digital census exercise was being conducted, saying it was unacceptable that elections in one province take place based on a different census, and other provincial polls are held based on a “flawed” digital census.
لائیو: کراچی میں سیلاب سے متاثرہ کسانوں میں رقم کی تقسیم کے حوالے سے منعقدہ تقریب https://t.co/BFLd5POQGd
— PPP (@MediaCellPPP) March 5, 2023
The PPP can support a scientific and real census, but will not support this methodology.
“We cannot support such a census,” Bilawal told the ceremony. However, he added that the Centre “has no solution to our objections”.
He added that Sindh was the only province that had objections over the census.
“I will talk to the Centre about the census. If there are any irregularities, we will not accept them [results],” the PPP chief said.
“We raised objections against the 2017 census,” he continued. “There was a big difference in the numbers of Sindh and other provinces. If the federal government did not see to the PPP’s objections this time, Sindh will not support it.”
Expressing his severe concerns and regret, Bilawal said that the promises made to the flood affectees by the federal government could not be fulfilled.
Under the programme, the Sindh government transferred Rs8.39 billion from the provincial budget to the BISP for the disbursement of Rs5,000 per acre to each small grower holding up to 12 acres of agricultural land.
Since Rs13.5 billion was needed to provide relief to the flood-hit farmers through the subsidy programme, it was decided that the federal government would give Rs4.7 billion grant and the remaining Rs8.39 billion would be provided by the Sindh government, he said, reminding the PDM-led government in the centre of its promise.
“We [will] take up this issue in the National Assembly,” he said, adding that he would also speak to the premier to fulfil the promises made to the flood victims, otherwise it would be very difficult for the PPP to be part of the federal government.
