KARACHI: It appears that the issues within the ruling coalition have “resolved,” as the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) has chosen to vote in favour of the budget for 2023–23 and has forbidden its leaders from criticising the Pakistan Muslim League–Nawaz (PML–N).
PPP vote for budget: According to sources, the PPP has chosen to support Budget 2023–24 in the National Assembly following the settlement of its issues with the PML-N.
Sources have reported that the federal government has allocated an additional Rs 30 billion to Sindh. They will utilize the funds to rebuild the infrastructure and homes damaged by the floods.
The budget for 2023–24 would include Rs25 billion for flood victims, as Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif promised Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah the day before.
In Islamabad, PM Shehbaz Sharif met privately with Sindh CM Murad Ali Shah. According to sources, the chief minister brought up the issue of special funding for flood victims in the federal budget for 2023–24.
He informed PM Sharif that the Sindh government had set aside Rs 25 billion for flood victims and that the federal government should do the same to assist in their rehabilitation. Additionally, CM Shah urged the premier to request specific funding from international relief for flood victims.
The prime minister promised CM Shah that the government budget will include Rs 25 billion in funding for flood victims. Following his discussion with the premier, CM Shah left Islamabad for Karachi.
Concerned about the ‘non-allocation of cash’ for flood victims is Bilawal
Earlier, PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari bemoaned the fact that the ministers were not keeping their commitments and lambasted the current administration for “not allocating funds” for flood victims in Budget 2023–24.
During his speech in Swat, the PPP chairman pointed out that the budget for 2023-24 did not allocate any funds for the rehabilitation of flood victims.
“I was surprised to see that no funds were allocated for the rehabilitation of flood victims,” he added. “We have sent our high-level delegation to PM Shehbaz Sharif to raise concerns that PPP has very little input in the budget,” he said.
I have no doubts about the prime minister’s intentions, but the premier needs to hold his team accountable because they aren’t keeping their end of the bargain.
The PPP chairman continued by saying that if the government did not provide funding for flood restoration, his party would not support this budget.