The PPP gives the Government a period of one month to fulfill the coalition’s promises

The Pakistan People’s Party has given a month’s time to the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz-led federal government to fulfill the commitments made during the formation of the coalition. The PPP has warned that it will reassess its position and determine its future course of action if promises remain unfulfilled.

Addressing a press conference after a PPP Central Executive Committee (CEC) meeting, party leader Senator Sherry Rehman, flanked by PPP Information Secretary Nadeem Afzal Chan and Sindh Information Minister Sharjeel Inam Memon, said the party had raised its concerns directly with Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif.

“In Punjab, people, especially farmers, are in extreme distress,” he said. “Their lands and livestock have been devastated by floods, leaving them with a bleak and uncertain future. On this issue, the party president [Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari] has repeatedly stressed (and the federal government will have to agree) that the procurement price of wheat should be fixed, so that farmers receive incentives, have access to DAP and urea, and can fend for themselves, just as Sindh had initiated.”

Rehman said that a meeting was held with the president and the prime minister, during which the PPP expressed all its reservations and concerns. “The next day, President Bilawal also took his team to Bilawal House, where further discussions were held. The Prime Minister had invited him to speak on these matters, and today President Bilawal briefed the CEC about the Prime Minister’s commitments,” he said.

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He clarified that the PPP had not demanded cabinet positions or privileges. “Pakistan People’s Party has always stood for democracy. We played an important role in forming the government; whether it was institutional reforms or social welfare projects, we not only supported them but also helped build consensus. That is why we hoped that our voice would be heard in this coalition,” he said.

Senator Rehman added that the federal government had accepted Bilawal Bhutto’s proposal to exempt flood-affected citizens from paying electricity bills. “Instead of indulging in political points, I would urge the government to reconsider and use the Benazir Income Support Program (BISP),” he said, recalling that the BISP was effectively used to disburse flood aid in 2022.

Referring to unfulfilled commitments, he said: “On issues like government formation and the 26th Amendment – particularly in relation to Punjab and the federal government – promises were made that have not been kept. At the CEC, we have decided to give time to the government and the prime minister. We will meet again after a month and assess what progress has been made on those promises. After that, we will decide our future course of action. action”.

Senator Sherry Rehman said October 18 remains a day of deep significance for the PPP, remembering the tragic events of its 17th anniversary. “On October 18, 2007, there was a sea of ​​people who came out to welcome their leader, and he was attacked in a cowardly manner. We will never forget the debt we owe to the martyrs,” he said.

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The date marks the two bomb attacks that exploded near Benazir Bhutto’s truck in Karachi as she returned from an eight-year self-imposed exile. The attack killed at least 180 people and injured more than 500, in what remains one of the deadliest attacks on a political gathering in the country’s history.

PPP Information Secretary Nadeem Afzal Chan said the party had entered the coalition government with clear conditions, including holding local elections in Punjab. “At this time we have reservations about the local government system that is being introduced in the province. The system is unacceptable to us and we will raise this matter with the government,” he said.

He also expressed concern over the worsening economic situation and said industries in Karachi and Faisalabad are shutting down due to high energy costs. “On the agricultural front, they first used the IMF as an excuse to stop procurement; not only did the Sindh government cry over it, but wheat was also not procured in Punjab. Instead, we ended up importing wheat. Now, when the time comes for the sugar mills to start operations, sugar is imported,” he said.

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Chan added that while the prime minister had declared an emergency in response to the floods, “the Punjab government did not act on it, while the Sindh government largely implemented it.”

Senator Rehman concluded by saying that the CEC had also praised Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari’s diplomatic efforts, particularly his “successful representation of Pakistan’s stance to the international community in the wake of the Pakistan-India conflict”.