FM Qureshi criticises Bilawal, Sindh govt

NAWABSHAH:

Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi on Wednesday slammed Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and his party and said the PPP popularity in Punjab is 'merely 5pc'.

The foreign minister added that the PPP chairperson is not popular in Kyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan or Karachi.

Talking to the media in Sakrand, the minister stated that the old PPP slogan of 'roti, kapra, makaan' was no longer attracting people to the party in Sindh.

Qureshi added that the PPP was using resources such as ambulances and police forces in their “so-called march”. Reiterating that Bilawal 'still had to learn', Qureshi said the young PPP leader still needs more experience. 

“However, a plant does not bear fruit in a year”, he remarked, adding that he himself had 36 years of practical political experience and had worked his way up from the municipality level.

“Rs1,400 billion had been allocated for the development of Sindh in the past 14 years. Imran Khan has allocated Rs1 trillion for Sindh in just three years”, FM Qureshi compared.

He maintained that the audit report showed that 44% of Sindh’s budget went towards corruption, a statistic that Qureshi claimed was highlighted by government agencies and not PPP’s opposition.

“You [PPP] have been sitting in the provincial government for the last 15 years, yet you refuse to answer for your actions”, Qureshi said.

Read Qureshi accuses PPP of luring workers with Rs30k each for its Awami March

He stated that the health, education, and law-and-order in Sindh – which were controlled by the provincial government – were apparent for all to see.

Qureshi further claimed that the people of Sindh had been frustrated for 15 years, were fed up with PPP's rule and wanted a change.

“We have come to save Sindh,' he said.

He maintained that PTI’s allies still supported them and that the ruling party’s MNA’s were not part of any group, except Imran Khan’s.

“There is no group in PTI except Imran Khan”, he said.

FM Qureshi said that the opposition did not have strength in numbers as PML-N wanted elections and the PPP did not want elections.

Ukraine-Russia war

FM Qureshi maintained that Pakistan supported peace and dialogue in the ongoing armed conflict in Ukraine.

He stated that Ukraine bordered three countries with whom the government was in touch and 1,132 Pakistani students had crossed the border of Ukraine to safer areas. 

“There were a total of 3,000 male and female students, most of whom have crossed the border," he said.

According to the minister, the remaining students’ documents were not complete, which is why they were left behind. However, he stated that the government was working towards rescuing them.