KARACHI: Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has warned that Pakistan is facing one of the worst floods in its history, which could endanger the country’s food security in the coming years.
Addressing a press conference in Karachi, Bilawal thanked Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif for imposing a climate and agriculture emergency and said that the federal government could support Sindh under the newly announced agricultural package. “The effects of the floods in Sindh are still ongoing,” he noted.
Bilawal said he had advised Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah to design a provincial plan aimed at supporting farmers.
He announced that the Sindh government would launch the Benazir Hari Card to provide direct financial support to small farmers and landholders through their national identity cards. Additionally, subsidies would be given on fertilizers such as DAP and urea.
He urged the federal government to review its policies and extend flood relief through the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP).
The PPP chairman emphasised that southern Punjab had also suffered extensive damage from floods and required urgent federal assistance.
Bilawal’s remarks underscored the pressing need for a coordinated national response to address the agricultural and climate crises aggravated by devastating floods.
He said BISP is the only way to provide immediate relief to the victims, but he does not know why it seems that the federal government is taking decisions out of ego.
The PPP chairman said that during the election days, the PML-N used to praise BISP, but now it is not known why the PML-N government has taken a U-turn.
Bilawal criticised the federal government and said that if there had been a timely request for international aid, more flood-hit people could have been helped.
PPP Chairman Bilawal said that if the federal government helps Sindh province, the agricultural sector will benefit more. He announced that his party’s government in Sindh will help wheat farmers so that they do not have to import wheat.
Bilawal stressed that the solution to the Balochistan issue lies in politics, not in military action. He said that India is openly financing terrorist groups and not hiding its role.
He claimed that banned organizations within Pakistan were aligned with India during the recent war. He added that Pakistan is actively raising the issue of Indian terrorism at the international level to expose New Delhi’s activities.
The PPP chairman assured that Sindh government employees will continue to receive pensions as usual, while the legitimate concerns of pensioners will be resolved through proper channels.
He expressed reservations over the federal government’s approach, criticising the ruling PML-N for not taking his party into confidence on the 26th Constitutional Amendment.
Bilawal argued that with a new National Finance Commission (NFC) Award due, provinces should receive a bigger share of national resources.
