Bilawal accuses ‘some forces’ of rolling back provincial powers and transferring resources to Islamabad

Pakistan People’s Party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari on Wednesday accused “some forces” of deliberately promoting a narrative that Sindh and smaller provinces had not fulfilled, warning that the campaign was aimed at justifying the rollback of provincial powers and resources to Islamabad.

Speaking at the inauguration of the Thar Institute of Engineering, Science and Technology, affiliated to the NED University of Engineering and Technology, on the Mithi-Islamkot highway in Tharparkar, Bilawal said the development in Tharparkar is the strongest response to what he described as a “deliberate conspiracy” aimed at rolling back the constitutional rights, authority and resources of the provinces.

“The biggest refutation to this false narrative is Tharparkar himself,” he said, pointing out the contrast between the conditions of the district before 2008 and the situation after the 18th Constitutional Amendment.

Bilawal said Pakistan People’s Party believed in people-centred and pro-poor governance, adding that his party was willing to compete with other provinces and governments in education, health and development. “No one can defeat the people of Sindh in this competition,” he said.

He stressed that development in Tharparkar and the four provinces was essential to the overall progress of Pakistan, rejecting the idea that provincial development could only flow from the federal capital.

Referring to Thar coal, Bilawal said the resource belonged to the people of Tharparkar and described it as an asset comparable in scale to Saudi Arabia’s oil reserves. He said former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto’s repeated attempts to tap into coal reserves had been thwarted, delaying economic benefits for decades.

He said the use of Thar coal after 2008 had not only brought economic changes to the region but had also contributed electricity to the national grid, benefiting industrial hubs like Faisalabad. “This is how a strong federation works,” he said.

Bilawal said economic activity in Thar had led to a parallel social transformation, with investments in healthcare resulting in a network of dispensaries, basic health units and hospitals across the district. He cited the role of the Thar Foundation and a public-private partnership with Indus Hospital as examples of better health services.

Regarding education, he said the inauguration of the NED-affiliated institute fulfilled a long-standing demand of the local youth. He noted that classes began in 2019 in a government building and that the Sindh government had inaugurated a dedicated campus, with a commitment to convert it into a full-fledged university before the end of its term.

Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah, Provincial Minister for Universities and Boards Muhammad Ismail Rahoo and NED University Vice Chancellor Tufail Ahmed also addressed the ceremony.

Bilawal said the PPP government had doubled the number of universities in Sindh since 2008, adding that the figure was even higher when campuses were included. He said the party would continue to invest in education and health in the public interest.

Bilawal expressed satisfaction over the high number of female students at the institute and said it reflected Benazir Bhutto’s vision of equal access to education for women. He also welcomed students from Gilgit-Baltistan studying in the campus, terming it as a sign of national integration.