Bilawal urges court action if Sindh’s gas, water rights are not respected

Karachi: Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has stated that Sindh is not receiving its proper share of Sui gas and water, announcing that if its constitutional rights are not fulfilled, the provincial government will consider approaching the courts.

He also criticized Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif over his claims of controlling power outages in the country. “What kind of government is this that is not giving us our constitutional rights? We are not getting Sui gas, which is our constitutional right,” he added.

He pointed out that the population of Karachi is rapidly increasing, making the provision of water a significant challenge. Just like with Sui gas, we are not receiving our fair share of water. We only get water during floods, he said. He also emphasized the need for adopting smart irrigation practices and expressed a desire for public-private partnerships in this area.

While addressing a ceremony to honor businessmen in Karachi, Bilawal credited the Sindh government and Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah for ensuring that businessmen are no longer forced to pay extortion money. “The situation is now fully under control, and no one can take extortion money from traders or threaten them with murder,” he added.

Bilawal acknowledged the presence of numerous cases of land grabbing but reassured that there was no need to complain to anyone else, as the PPP government is in power in Sindh. “Convey your issues to me, and our government will do its best to resolve the problems faced by businessmen,” he said. He also admitted that there are several issues, many of which are serious and need to be addressed.

Bilawal emphasized the PPP’s contribution to maintaining law and order, noting that extortion money is no longer being taken from businessmen, no one is being forced to strike, and everyone is able to do business in a peaceful environment. “I have never asked for charity or extortion money from any businessman. If you have any complaints about me, please communicate directly. Why would I want anyone to pressure you in my name or in the name of our government?” he said.

The PPP chairman expressed his desire to strengthen public-private partnerships in Sindh and complete major projects through this collaboration. “Our government used this mechanism in the past to complete projects in health, Tharcoal, and development,” he added.

He noted that it is a point of pride that Sindh is the only province where public-private partnerships are working, which has been acknowledged internationally. “We want to build DISCOs in Sindh with the help of the private sector,” he concluded.