Bilawal says Sindh's progress defies a 'hidden agenda'

Striking a chord with political elements that have often looked askance at Islamabad's intentions vis-a-vis the provinces, Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari cautioned that some powers seek to deprive Sindh of its rights, authority, and resources.

Addressing the inauguration ceremony of the first phase of the Tharparkar Institute of Engineering, Science and Technology in Tharparkar district on Wednesday, Bilawal warned that a 'special campaign' was being run to tarnish the image of the province and its government.

"Some powers want to rob your province of its rights, authority, and resources under the pretext that the Sindh government hasn't done anything, that this small province hasn't done anything," the PPP chairman contended.

"[They say] that is why all authority and resources should be returned to Islamabad," he added, without specifically referring to any individual, political party, or institution. "This is all being done for a particular purpose [and] for a particular conspiracy," he emphasised.

Bilawal stressed, however, that the development initiatives undertaken in Tharparkar, as well as in other parts of Sindh, effectively negate this false narrative of poor performance by the provincial government.

He asked the people of Tharparkar to witness the state of development in their area. "Look at Tharparkar before 2008 and look at it today in 2026. There are still problems, but the transformation is before your eyes," he said.

"I would like to tell those who think that for Sindh or for its people, the path to development is only possible through Islamabad, that we have proven this notion wrong through initiatives in education, health, and public-private sectors. Thar has also proven it wrong."

He recalled that the tendency to deny autonomy to the provinces and control over their natural resources had prevented his mother, former prime minister the late Benazir Bhutto, from launching the Thar coal project in 1993.

He claimed that the same conspiracies had thwarted her efforts to harness Thar's coal not only for the development of this desert region but for the entire country. He equated the quantity of coal reserves in Thar with the oil reserves of Saudi Arabia.

"This is unfortunate for this country and its people, that the journey of development and economic progress, which could have begun in 1993, only started after 2008," the PPP chiarman told the audience.

He added that harnessing Thar coal has not only helped the local economy and residents but also benefited industrial zones in Faisalabad through coal-produced electricity. He also highlighted the social impact of the Thar coal projects, connecting them to improvements in health and education in the region.

The PPP chairman recalled that students of Tharparkar in 2019 had demanded the establishment of a university in their district. The Sindh government had set up a campus of NED University in a government building the same year.

He said that in the first phase, the Tharparkar Institute of Engineering, Science and Technology has been inaugurated, while the second phase—which will upgrade the institute into a university—will be completed before the end of the current Sindh government's term in 2029.

Bilawal credited the Sindh government for doubling the number of universities in the province over the last 18 years. He also expressed satisfaction at witnessing a higher number of female students progressing to tertiary education in the universities.