ISLAMABAD: Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) said that since the federal budget was announced almost two weeks ago, the PPP has been pushing our partners in government to fulfil their promises to the people of Pakistan regarding funding for flood relief.
PPP Information Secretary and Minister of State for Poverty Alleviation and Social Safety, Faisal Karim Kundi, expressed these views in a news conference along with Minister for Poverty Alleviation and Social Safety Shazia Marri.
PPP media chief coordinator Nazir Dhoki was also present on this occasion.
“Floods last year devastated huge parts of our country, with lives lost and livelihoods destroyed in Sindh, Balochistan, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Azad Jammu and Kashmir, and Punjab. Already this year we have seen further loss of life and property in KPK, and the threat of a devastating cyclone in Sindh that was narrowly avoided,” he said.
Kundi said “despite the obvious hardship being endured by millions of our fellow Pakistanis, which has been compounded by a difficult economic climate, the federal Finance Ministry has still not provided funds that were promised last year. Nor were sufficient funds allocated in the federal budget announced recently,” he said.
“We have been in negotiations with our coalition partners for several days regarding the need to offer more help to struggling people, and their willingness to hear our concerns is a positive sign. But discussions will not help the people who need assistance, and urgent action is required,” he said.
“Today, on what would have been her 70th birthday, we remember the life and values of our leader Benazir Bhutto Shaheed, and one of the most important of the values she taught us is to help people who need help. Throughout her life, she demonstrated her unwavering commitment to the people of Pakistan, especially those who were struggling and needed a champion, and it is in the spirit of her vision that we reiterate our call for the federal Finance Ministry and the prime minister to turn words into action when it comes to helping people affected by floods,” he said.
He said those people had waited too long already for help and despite the best efforts of the Government of Sindh (who have provided over 80 percent of the funding for flood relief efforts in Sindh) and other provincial governments. He said there was still a huge funding gap that could only be met by real action on the part of the federal Finance Ministry and the prime minister.
Minister for Poverty Alleviation and Social Safety Shazia Marri said Benazir Bhutto played a remarkable role in nurturing the democratic process in the country.
Highlighting the services rendered by Benazir Bhutto for the restoration of democracy in the country, she said Benazir Bhutto came to the country despite knowing the fact that she was under threat and embraced martyrdom.
The minister said Benazir termed Thar coal as black gold of the country and started work on it. Ghazi Brotha energy-related project is also included in her achievement.
Shazia Marri said Benazir Bhutto established better relationships with the international community especially with neighbours to gain the dividends of shared economic growth.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2023
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