Bilawal threatens to quit federal cabinet

Expressing his annoyance at his own coalition government, Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman and Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari has warned the Centre of quitting ministries "if the promises made to flood affectees in Sindh are not fulfilled".

He made the remarks while addressing a ceremony after the inauguration of Seed Subsidy programme under BISP for flood-affected farmers in Karachi on Sunday.

“The promises to flood victims are needed to be fulfilled otherwise it will be difficult for us to hold our [federal] ministries,” Bilawal said.

In December last year, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, during his visit to Pir Guddu and Kot Diji flood-affected areas in the Khairpur district, inspected the post-flood rehabilitation work and announced the construction of houses for flood victims.

The PPP leader, while expressing his severe concerns and regret, said that the promises made to the flood affectees by the federal government could not be fulfilled. The flood-hit community is going through a difficult time amid rising inflation in the country, he added.

The Centre, he further said, should give priority to the flood affectees. "If the federal government or the prime minister [Shehbaz Sharif] made promises, then they need to be fulfilled.

According to the PPP chairman, the ruling party in Sindh would raise the issue in the National Assembly as well as before the prime minister. He also expressed hope that their concerns would be redressed by the federal government.

‘Digital census a flawed exercise’

Terming the first-ever digital census in the country a “flawed exercise”, the foreign minister said that Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah had grave concerns over the ongoing census.

“We had objected to the results of the 2018 census,” he said, adding that there was a massive difference in the results of the Housing Census in Sindh compared to the other provinces.

The PPP leader said that they had demanded the recounting of 10% of the housing census.

Without naming the Imran Khan-led PTI government, Bilawal said the 2018 census was aimed at bringing a “selected” into power

Sindh had been raising objections over the census in the intra-provincial meetings, he went on to say, adding that his province had already sent its objections over the digital census to the federal government. “Even I did not know that the census would also be held online.”

He clarified, “If polls in one or two provinces will take place based on a different census, and in other provinces, the elections will be held based on a flawed digital census, then this is not acceptable to the PPP.”

The Sindh government will not support the digital census if the federal authorities do not redress their grievances, the PPP chairman further said.

He, however, said that they would support an impartial and scientific census.