PPP Chairman and Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari on Saturday made it succinctly clear that his party’s approval of the budget for the fiscal year 2023-24 depended on Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s decision to allocate funds for flood victims that were promised last year.

Addressing a rally in Swat, FM Bilawal said: “If the PML-N wants the PPP to vote on the budget then this cannot happen without [funds] for flood reconstruction expenditure and we hope that our demands and reservations about this budget will be soon addressed by [Finance Minister Ishaq] Dar and his team.”

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The PPP chairman expressed concern about the lack of allocated funds for flood victims in the budget. He urged the prime minister to fulfil his promise regarding flood aid and monitor the ministers in his cabinet who failed to comply in enabling to premier to live up to his commitments.

Underlining the need for the allocation of funds for the reconstruction of flood-hit areas in the budget, Bilawal said the PPP strongly believed in people’s well-being and welfare.

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The PPP chief apprised the people that his party sent a high-level delegation to the prime minister on June 16 to relay concerns over his party having little input in the budget.

Bilawal said he was surprised to know that no funds were allocated for any province for flood reconstruction, emphasising that the rehabilitation of flood victims was inevitable for economic growth.

“I don’t doubt the premier’s intention,” he said. “Members of his team are not fulfilling their promises.”

The foreign minister has previously raised his reservations as well against the federal government over the issues of funds for flood affectees and their relief and rehabilitation.

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Fissures within the ruling coalition were visible in the National Assembly on Friday when lawmakers belonging to the PPP, while taking part in the debate on the federal budget, assailed the ruling PML-N for not providing promised funds to the Sindh government for rehabilitation and reconstruction of the flood-affected areas and “denying” the province its due share from the tax amount.

The PPP lawmakers in their speeches had blamed the PML-N for not taking sufficient measures to provide relief to the poor, reduce prices and resolve the energy crisis and expressed concern over the ambiguity regarding the allocation of development funds.

Holding the PML-N responsible for all the ills and defects in the budget, the PPP lawmakers had claimed that the credit for the increase in salaries and pensions of government employees went to former president Asif Ali Zardari upon “whose insistence the government agreed to give the raise”.

Similarly, a number of PPP MNAs had praised FM Bilawal for a “successful” foreign policy and for getting assistance for the flood-hit areas while effectively raising the climate change issue at the international forums.

No one from the PML-N, however, had given a direct response to the PPP members, but in their speeches, they had kept on praising PM Shehbaz and Dar for presenting the “best possible budget” under the prevailing economic conditions.

Commends Swat’s resistance against terrorism

FM Bilawal also asserted that PPP had successfully eradicated terrorism and extremism from the country but the “selected rulers” once again handed over the country to terrorists after calling them back.

“I salute the resilience of Swat’s residents during the period of terrorism, at that time, Shaheed Benazir Bhutto had said that some people wanted to remove the flag of Pakistan from Swat, but she said she would never allow it to happen,” he said.

Bilawal commended the people of Swat for their unwavering resistance against terrorism, which led to lasting peace in the valley. He assured the Swati people that the PPP would stand with them and never abandon them.

Highlighting the importance of peace in both Pakistan and Afghanistan, Bilawal stated that the PPP was in contact with Afghanistan and emphasised the benefits of peaceful coexistence and increased trade between the two nations.

He called upon terrorists to surrender to the law, emphasising that those who had killed innocent people would not be spared. He vowed to establish lasting peace and remain steadfast against terrorism, emphasising the unity between the people of Swat and the PPP in this fight.

“Terrorism was already a problem in Pakistan, but now political terrorism has been started. Workers of PTI attacked institutions, monuments of our heroes, and GHQ (General Headquarters). If we forgive them, then there will be political terrorism in Pakistan and not politics,” he said.

He recalled that when Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto was hanged, Benazir could have directed the workers to attack national institutions but she was a patriot and refrained from doing so. “PPP jails burnt themselves but did not attack our national assets,” he said.

The PPP chief further said that when Benazir was assassinated, people in the country were so angry that whatever the party leadership wanted to incite them, they would have done it. “At that time, I was only 19, but I said democracy is our only revenge,” he said, adding that PPP always chanted the slogan of that democracy because they were peaceful.

He added that PTI chief Imran Khan had incited his workers to attack military installations after his arrest. “PPP demands that strict legal action be taken against the political terrorism of PTI,” he said.

‘Prepare for elections’

Regarding recent governments, Bilawal contrasted the rule of Zardari, Nawaz Sharif, and Imran. “While Imran Khan had caused chaos and darkness in the country, Zardari had provided jobs and prosperity to the poor,” he said.

He said that the elections should be held on time and the people of the country, especially the youth, would be ready to vote for PPP.

“I also ask the other political parties to prepare for the elections, and when the elections are held, the political party that wins will have the right to rule the country,” the foreign minister said, adding that PPP understood that its manifesto was the only solution of the people of Pakistan as it addressed the issues of poor people.

Bilawal called on the people of Swat to start the election campaign for the elections immediately without any delays.