Benches clash in PA

The Sindh Assembly's debate on the provincial budget intensified on Saturday as treasury and opposition lawmakers clashed over governance, Karachi's mounting civic challenges, water shortages, development priorities, and the province's fiscal future, exposing sharp political fault lines on the second day of budget discussions.

While Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) members praised Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah for presenting what they described as a balanced and people-friendly budget despite difficult economic conditions, opposition members from MQM-P and PTI rejected the document, alleging they had not been consulted during its preparation.

PPP MPA Maliha Manzoor argued that reduced federal transfers had squeezed provincial finances. She claimed Sindh was facing a revenue shortfall of Rs250 billion, while the overall shortfall exceeded Rs600 billion. Taking aim at the opposition, she accused its members of protesting before even hearing the budget speech and alleged that some were seeking political concessions in exchange for support.

Hina Dastgir acknowledged public disappointment over the modest increase in salaries, saying many govt employees had expected larger raises. She defended the government's spending priorities, noting that education and health continued to receive the largest allocations in the provincial budget.

Several treasury lawmakers repeatedly highlighted water scarcity as one of Sindh's gravest challenges. Pir Mujeeb-ul-Haq warned that farmers were suffering because of water shortages, while Heer Soho said districts such as Sujawal, Thatta, Badin and Tando Muhammad Khan were among the worst affected and urged immediate government intervention.

The opposition, however, painted a starkly different picture.

MQM-P lawmaker Dr Fauzia Hameed challenged government claims of progress, saying Karachi residents continued to struggle for basic necessities. "There is no water, electricity or gas," she said, arguing that people were chasing water tankers instead of focusing on their daily lives and religious obligations. Her party colleague Faheem Patni said the fact that treasury lawmakers themselves were complaining about public issues raised serious questions about governance during the PPP's 18 years in power.

PTI lawmaker Rehan Bandukda highlighted residents were enduring up to 16 hours of electricity outages and that development projects often existed only on paper. Another PTI member, Sajid Mir, said educated young people across Sindh were struggling to find jobs despite earning degrees.