KARACHI:
Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari on Tuesday rejected corruption allegations in the Sindh People’s Housing Scheme and accused political opponents of running a smear campaign against the provincial government, while calling for an international audit of the project to address the allegations.
Speaking in Karachi, Bilawal said Sindh had repeatedly faced criticism, while political opponents had attempted to create an impression of widespread corruption in the province. He said political opponents had accused the PPP of raising funds for the housing project to misappropriate money.
Bilawal urged Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah to write to international organisations and invite them to audit the project. “I can confidently say that no corruption has taken place in this project,” he said.
He urged political opponents to stop criticising and maligning the Sindh government and instead learn from its efforts to serve underprivileged communities. Bilawal said 50 per cent of educational institutions had been destroyed in 2023.
Referring to relations between the federal and provincial governments, he recalled that a former prime minister had told the PPP that Sindh did not belong to his government. He said Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had at least not made the Sindh government feel that way.
The PPP chairman said political parties needed to work together rather than engage in confrontation, adding that the people of Pakistan did not want to witness political infighting. He said citizens were more concerned about which political party was addressing their problems than about those spreading political hatred and creating divisions among people.
Bilawal said the country needed unity to overcome its challenges and that political parties should cooperate in addressing the ongoing crises. He also referred to criticism of the political system from Lahore’s business community, saying the public did not want to see the system undermined.
The PPP chairman said he had met the prime minister’s team and that both sides had assured each other of continued coordination. He said the federal government would cooperate with Sindh, while the provincial government would also extend its cooperation to the Centre. Bilawal maintained that mutual cooperation would help improve governance and ensure the effective completion of public welfare projects.
One million homes completed for flood victims
Highlighting the Sindh People’s Housing Scheme, Bilawal described it as the world’s largest housing project and said the provincial government had completed one million homes for flood-affected families. He said the PPP had launched the historic initiative at a time when the world was facing an economic crisis.
The PPP chairman said the programme aimed to construct two million homes, while he also referred to a target of five million houses for flood-affected families. Bilawal said the Sindh government had undertaken the project with the support of international partners.
He stated that the provincial government had not only constructed permanent houses for flood victims but had also provided them with ownership rights to the land. He said the ownership of houses had been registered in women’s names, giving affected families greater security.
The PPP chairman maintained that families who previously had no homes had been provided permanent housing. He said the government’s responsibility was to provide citizens with healthcare and medical treatment facilities while taking measures to reduce the financial burden on ordinary people.
Recalling the floods, Bilawal said he had been in Larkana when the heavy rains began and had never witnessed a natural disaster of such magnitude. He said he had travelled by helicopter with the prime minister and that the floodwaters had made the landscape appear like a sea.
The PPP chairman recalled promising women affected by the disaster that he would help build homes for them. He said that promise had now resulted in the completion of one million houses.
Bilawal said the federal government at the time had told international financial institutions that provincial governments were corrupt and that funds should therefore be provided to the Centre. He claimed that those making such statements did not even visit Sindh.
The PPP chairman said the World Bank had expressed confidence in the Sindh government and released funds for the housing project. He recalled that, while serving as foreign minister, he had also raised funds for Balochistan.
Bilawal said the federal government had taken responsibility for reconstruction in Balochistan, but only 30,000 houses had been built there over three years. He contrasted that figure with the one million homes he said had been completed in Sindh.
Bilawal urges political cooperation
The PPP chairman said political parties needed to work together rather than fight one another. He maintained that Pakistanis did not want political confrontation and that all citizens needed to unite to overcome national challenges.
Bilawal said the government was responsible for reducing the economic burden on the public and ensuring access to essential services, including healthcare. He added that the Sindh government was fulfilling its responsibilities and that cooperation between the federal and provincial governments would help complete public welfare projects more effectively.
The PPP chairman said both governments had assured each other of continued coordination and expressed confidence that they would work together to achieve further progress.
