Pakistan Peoples Party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari has urged the federal government to drop its confrontational approach and work with all political stakeholders, saying economic hardship must come before political fights.
Speaking on Friday at the groundbreaking ceremony of a 600-bed hospital in Larkana, he said the people of Pakistan were finding it difficult to live in economic terms, and the government should focus on easing that burden.
“If we fight the PTI, Maulana [Fazlur Rehman], terrorists, India and Afghanistan, we will remain occupied with this work. When will we focus on economic development?” he asked.
Turning to electoral reforms, Bilawal said the PTI should take part in the parliamentary committee formed to discuss changes to the electoral process. He urged opposition leaders in the National Assembly and the Senate to ensure the PTI’s representation in the committee unconditionally, saying the party’s founder, Imran Khan, had given them full authority to decide.
He said the PPP had approached opposition leaders and asked them to nominate representatives. The opposition had earlier conditioned engagement on Khan’s release or a meeting with him, but Bilawal said that with full authority now given, opposition leaders should decide on the party’s representation.
He added that the proposed committee could serve as a starting point if all sides believed the elections had been manipulated, and claimed the alleged manipulation had aimed at preventing the PPP from succeeding.
Separately, Bilawal described his meeting with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif as positive. Federal budgets had been approved with PPP support, he noted, and the Centre was now extending assistance for development projects, although Balochistan had complaints about not receiving federal projects. He suggested the prime minister hold cabinet meetings in the provinces.
On the hospital, he said Chandka Hospital was a gift from former prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto to the people, but it could no longer cope with its growing patient burden. People from Balochistan, including Naseerabad, also travel to Larkana for treatment, he said, adding that no citizen should be deprived of treatment for lack of money. Sindh is spending Rs45 billion on higher education, he added.
