Bilawal is upset with the government, as he has admitted to Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah.
On Wednesday, Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah of Karachi said that PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari was “displeased” with the government’s recovery efforts following the catastrophic floods of 2022.
The Chief Minister of Sindh made a statement in the Sindh Assembly, saying, “Bilawal Bhutto and the Sindh government are still dissatisfied,” and asking the federal government for further aid for the flood-ravaged province.
Despite Bilawal’s denials a day earlier, the statement has reignited rumors of “political differences” between the coalition partners, the PPP and the PML-N.
It is worth noting that tensions between the two groups began to rise after a Bhutto scion made public remarks in Swat on Saturday, suggesting that the proposed budget failed to adequately compensate areas that had suffered the most from last year’s terrible floods.
Shah said today that “we want the government to compensate for the deprivation of the province that had ensued for the past three years [of the former PTI government].”
He also emphasized that “developmental projects in Sindh must be prioritized by the federal government.”
Shah added, “Rs30 billion would be obtained from the federal government only after protest.”
He insisted that Rs25 billion had been allocated in the budget for Sindh and promised an additional Rs2 billion to rebuild the flooded-out schools.
The session was then adjourned indefinitely after the Sindh Assembly passed the budget for the next fiscal year.
Notably, in its budget for 2023-24, the Sindh government disclosed a comprehensive restoration plan aimed at revitalizing several industries hit hard by the terrible 2022 monsoon floods. Murad Ali Shah, chief minister of Sindh, said that out of the 33 million people affected by the disaster across the country, the province of Sindh took the most hit.
Losses in infrastructure, agriculture, education, and other critical sectors were substantial because the floods flooded 70% of the province and affected approximately 12.4 million people. More than 2 million homes, 3.8 million acres of standing crops, roughly 20,000 schools, and other areas were damaged.
More than a thousand people were killed throughout 24 of Sindh’s 30 districts, he claimed. The government of Sindh has set aside money for extensive rebuilding operations. Among these include reviving agricultural production, repairing broken irrigation systems, repairing provincial highways and internal roads, restoring water and sanitation infrastructure, and constructing affordable, long-term housing that can withstand the effects of climate change.
