Nazir Siyal

KARACHI, JUN 21 (DNA) – Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said on Monday that his party wanted that type of Pakistan where poor could afford ‘Roti, Kaprra aur Makan’.

Addressing a function held in connection with the birthday celebrations of his mother and former prime minister Benazir Bhutto (BB) in Karachi, he regretted that ‘Naya Pakistan’ as had been promised by the PTI government deprived the poor even of a loaf of bread.

Bilawal said that PPP had raised voice for giving due share to the provinces in water and other resources. He complained that Sindh and other provinces were not given their share due under the NFC Award. “We will not back down on somebody’s orders. We will snatch our rights from the Center,” he vowed.

He further said that 10, 000 people were fired from Pakistan Steel Mills. “I am surprised that Sindh Public Service Commission is closed at a time when there is a financial crisis in the country,” he said, and added, “PPP has never introduced such policies which rendered the youth jobless.”

PPP chairman stressed the need for working in the light of vision of BB. Making it clear that he would not tolerate allegations of bad governance in Sindh, he said whether one admitted it or not, PPP government in the province had delivered. “Other provincial governments should emulate our performance,” he boasted.

Admitting there were issues in the province,” he said, “Had we been given our rights our provincial government could have performed much better.” Bilawal said Sindh was the only province where the poverty rate had dropped contrary to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) where, as per his claim, poverty rate had increased.

 “Our GDP is ahead of other constituent units of Pakistan. But we have never tried to take credit for that,” he said, and added, “The Sindh government is trying to bring more and more businessmen under the tax net as not much tax is collected from them. But we are not frightening them or treating them like thieves.”

He claimed that Sindh was the only province where the government had introduced the policies such as Benazir Income Support Programme and others whose benefits had trickled down to the poor.

PPP chairman said that it was the party’s government that had launched the Thar Coal project. “Our government had fixed wheat price at Rs2, 000 following which Punjab also had to increase its price,” he said. He reminded that provinces got rights under the 18th Amendment. Bilawal claimed that besides other parts of Sindh, people of Thar were also benefitting from the provincial government policies. “Our government is building hospitals from Karachi to Gambat,” he said.