PTI destroying democratic norms, values: Bilawal Bhutto

Sindh is the province of peace and tranquillity and people in this province live like brothers. Nonetheless, he would take all measurements into account to remove the despondence and sense of deprivation that the people feel here.

The PPP Chairman expressed these views while addressing an event at the Sindh Assembly building to commemorate the 68th birth anniversary of Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto’s birthday.

He said the youth of the province has always been peaceful and on issues, their protests have also been peaceful. However, a handful of frustrating elements are as usual busy hatching conspiracies against the peace and tranquillity in the province and these elements are eager to create a fuss by misleading the youth, pushing them to acts of violence and acts of terrorism and extremism which has to be stopped.

The youth has to be helped to portray their actual face and it is very crucial to take measures to foil such conspiracies and to bring back those who have been trapped in conspiracies.

The PPP Chairman said that it is needed for the hour that jobs must be given to the locals who carry local domiciles. There should a new law that should make sure that locals get preferences in acquiring jobs in all businesses and including real estate, he added.

Bilawal Bhutto urged creating a forum to provide legal assistance to the displaced and affected locals in case they are ignored. We will never allow anyone to inflict damages to the lives and property of others, he said.

He said the fraudulent slogan of ‘Tabdeeli’ on which the incumbent government was selected and imposed on the people is depriving the people of their basic needs of easy employments and shelters. This is what they call a New Pakistan. They are destroying democratic norms and values.

These frustrating elements are destroying the concept of Federation and Islamic democratic system that Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto had given to the country and provinces were thus integrated.

Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said that despite the financial crunch, challenges and unprecedented impediments that the global pandemic brought, the Sindh government sanely managed things and delivered amicably.

The performances of the Sindh government are open and deserve due applause. Sadly, the rivals would never praise us.

The PPP Chairman said we will not allow anyone in Sindh to bring back Altaf Hussain’s politics and put to fight one brother against another. Sindh is a peaceful province, people from all provinces live here, he added.

He said that the youth of Sindh has always been peaceful and know how to protest for their rights, but now under a conspiracy, they are being identified as extremists and terrorists. Steps will have to be taken to get those, who are seduced, in the right direction.

Bilawal Bhutto Zardari stressed that all major businesses, including real estate, should be required to give preference to local domiciles for employment. A forum should also be set up to provide legal aid to the victims of such real estate business.

Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said that no one would be allowed to come and burn someone else’s house.

He further said that in the new Pakistan that is being created in front of us, bread, cloth and house is being snatched from the people and at the same time democratic dream is being snatched from us while the Islamic democratic and federal system of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto had united all the provinces.

Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said that despite challenges, impediments and financial crunch that the global pandemic COVID-19 brought with it, the Sindh government served the people of the provinces diligently and managed affairs amicably. However, the rivals feel embarrassed and start criticising and ridiculing the Sindh government.

It is as usual as a jaundiced eye always sees yellow in everything. But they can’t ditch the sane people of Sindh as the GDP of the province is better than other provinces due to well planning and determination of people’s elected Sindh government as compared to selector’s selected ineligible federal government.

The selected and ineligible Prime Minister Imran Ahmed Khan Niazi and his Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar can’t compete with Sindh CM Syed Murad Ali Shah.

They should take lessons from Shah as to how to use limited resources and slashed revenue from NFC for the upliftment and betterment of the people, he added.

He said that there is no denying poverty in the province, but Sindh has reduced poverty as compared to other provinces, while the highest increase in poverty has been in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Sindh province’s rural and urban per capita income is better than other provinces of the country.

He said that poverty is the record high in the country but since the Sindh government has taken timely measures to alleviate poverty, it is down as compared to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. New NFC has not yet been brought forward by the federal government, which had committed to releasing Rs1 trillion for renewal of infrastructure in Karachi along with required upliftment but the selected government took a U-turn on it and duped the people as. the federal budget is silent on it.

The PPP Chairman said that jobs in Sindh for the locals have been cut and the people have been deprived of their due rights. Even the ten thousand people have been rendered jobless by retrenching the workforce of Pakistan Steel Mills. They are also sacking officers of FIA because they hailed from Sindh, he pointed out.

They have closed Public Service Commission in Sindh except for all of Pakistan. Thus, this deliberate closure of the Commission is a direct threat to employees recruited per the criteria of the Commission since 2016.

Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said that Sindh province is the only province that has beefed up measures to lift the downtrodden by raising their wages and salaries. PPP promulgated Benazir Income Support Program and People’s Poverty Alleviation Program are catering to the needs of the poor successfully. It is a well-documented reality that Sindh’s government is performing well, he added.

He said that other provinces are far behind in gathering revenue through applied taxes. In Sindh, traders and businessmen are never tortured and never treated like thieves. The tax rate in Sindh is lower than in other provinces.

He said that Sindh CM has raised his voice against the Econo-legal attacks on Sindh, and now the PPP has decided to take the people into confidence and apprise them of what the federal government is doing against their interests.

Bilawal Bhutto Zardari pointed out that Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto first included public-private partnership in her Election Manifesto in 1993 and now Sindh is the only province that has completed much work on it. Thar Coal Project is a bright instance of this public-private partnership project in which the Sindh government along with its business community has brought about an economic revolution in Thar. World’s renowned periodicals such as The Economist magazine has acknowledged that Sindh’s public-private partnership is the best model not only in Pakistan but in the entire region, he added.

He said that PPP does not care for Sindh alone but it has concerns for the whole of the country. IRSA case is an example where PPP protested against neglecting three provinces.

Bilawal Bhutto Zardari vowed that he would continue to fight for the due share from the NFC award. PPP will never compromise on the constitutional rights of the people of Sindh as well as of other provinces.