Bilawal blasts ‘non-serious’ opposition in Sindh assembly

PPP chairman asks why no cut motions were moved during the budget debate

ISLAMABAD:

Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari on Monday criticised the opposition members in the Sindh assembly for their “non-serious conduct” and questioned why they did not move a single cut motion during the budget debate.

In an unprecedented smooth sailing, the ruling PPP passed the budget in the absence of cut motions as the discussion on the budget also remained inconclusive. Only three opposition members were present in the house when the budget was hurriedly passed.

“You must have seen the seriousness of the PPP members in the National Assembly who presented cut motions,” Bilawal said on Monday, saying that he hoped that the speaker Sindh assembly maintains the dignity.

“They [the opposition in Sindh assembly], like people in Islamabad, are cavalier in their conduct and think they are still on containers”.

On the question of Prime Minister Imran Khan’s rebuttal of the reports Pakistan was giving airbases to the United States, the chairman said: “We do not take Imran Khan’s statements with credulity owing to his history of U-turns on virtually every stance he took since coming to power.  We will be briefed about the issue in a meeting of the national security committee tomorrow.”

Commenting on the rehabilitation of the affectees of Gujjar and Orangi Nullahs he said that he respected the decisions of the Supreme Court.

Also read Sindh Assembly passes Rs1,477bn budget amid protest

“This is a humanitarian disaster because it affects 96,000 people,” Bilawal said and added: “You are forcibly displacing these people during a pandemic without resettling them or providing them with shelter, only with a negligible amount as compensation. The United Nations, in turn, has alarmed us that this is a grave breach of human rights.”

Bilawal said that he had called upon the Sindh government and the Sindh cabinet to take notice of the UN’s human rights appeal for the people living in Gujjar Nullah.

“The cabinet and parliament should also discuss this and we should approach the court for it to review its decision,” he said, stressing that, “We respect the apex court and do not wish to be contemptuous, we are only appealing to not forcibly displace Karachi’s poor population.”

Responding to a question about the Kashmir election campaign, the chairman said that he was grateful to the people of Gilgit Baltistan “who, despite the obvious attempts at rigging and intervention, voted for and supported PPP”.

Bilawal has been leading the party’s campaign to woo voters and galvanise support ahead of the Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) election slated for July 25.

Earlier, the PPP chairman had alleged that attempts were being made by the ruling PTI to rig the elections and impose a "puppet" government in the state.