Won’t back budget sans provincial input, fight for Sindh’s water rights: Bilawal

KARACHI: Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has said that he has not only fought for the fair distribution of water within Pakistan but also raised the issue on international platforms, convincing the global community of the need to save the Indus River.

Addressing a public gathering in Garhi Khuda Bakhsh on the 46th death anniversary of former prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, Bilawal said that whether it was General Musharraf’s controversial unilateral canal decisions or those of Imran Khan, PPP workers have grown old protesting against such moves with the slogan “Sindhu pe darya naamanzur” (no to canals on the Indus).

Beginning his speech, Bilawal thanked the crowd for gathering in Garhi Khuda Bakhsh every year to pay tribute to the leader of the people, “Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto.”

He said the PPP and its workers have upheld Bhutto’s legacy with pride, and he saluted the party workers who have carried forward this struggle for the past 46 years.

Bilawal said President Asif Ali Zardari fulfilled yet another promise made in Garhi Khuda Bakhsh by securing justice for Zulfikar Ali Bhutto through a presidential reference.

He added that President Zardari had honoured the responsibility placed on him by Shaheed Benazir Bhutto, who had entrusted him with the leadership of the PPP — a decision that proved to be right, as Zardari has delivered, especially by fulfilling the promise of poverty alleviation through the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP).

Also read: PPP to hold Sindh-wide protests against disputed canals project

Bilawal further said that Zulfikar Ali Bhutto had made a revolutionary decision by naming his daughter as his political successor, breaking with tradition. “Today, we can proudly say: Bhutto was alive yesterday, and Bhutto lives on today.”

He compared Benazir Bhutto’s role in PPP’s history to that of Bibi Zainab in Islamic history, saying she carried forward her father’s name and mission with unwavering strength, and inspired a generation to call themselves “Bhutto.”

Bilawal said that Garhi Khuda Bakhsh is where the PPP defines its political path. “We are proud of the struggles and achievements of Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto — he gave us the Constitution, the nuclear programme, democracy, rights for workers and farmers, and progress for the people.”

“President Zardari restored the 1973 Constitution through the 18th Amendment”

He said that President Zardari restored the 1973 Constitution through the 18th Amendment, and that he takes pride in this achievement.

He noted that people from all four provinces come to Sindh for medical treatment, and that Sindh leads the country in healthcare. However, he said, the most historic initiative is the People’s Housing Scheme. “First, the leader of the people [Zulfikar Ali Bhutto] made the poor owners of land, and today I am giving 2 million families their own homes and land,” he added.

Bilawal claimed that this is not just the largest housing project in Pakistan after Bhutto, but the largest of its kind in the world — being carried out by the Pakistan Peoples Party.

“We convinced the world that climate change damages are not our fault”

He said that the PPP views politics as a form of public service, not a means to spread hatred, division, or conflict. He asserted that the PPP successfully persuaded the global community that the damages caused by climate change in Pakistan are not Pakistan’s fault but the world’s.

Bilawal thanked the international community and the federal government for supporting the housing initiative, which is progressing successfully.

He said that during his tenure as foreign minister, he fought Pakistan’s battle for fair water distribution and climate justice on the international stage. “We convinced the world to help us save the Indus River and to support Pakistan,” he said.

Bilawal pointed out that the Indus was once known as the “Mighty Indus” and that it must be preserved. He expressed gratitude to the global community for accepting Pakistan’s case and pledging financial and technical assistance to activate the Indus Basin and protect the river.

He criticized India’s unilateral decisions, accusing it of water theft. “I stood up to India and defended Pakistan’s rights over its coastal areas and rivers on the world stage,” he said.

He also highlighted a major PPP achievement — the inclusion of environmental issues in the Constitution, which was not there previously. “We ensured amendments to the Constitution and introduced the environment as a subject in it,” he said.

Bilawal reiterated his party’s demand for a constitutional court with equal representation from all provinces. “It is PPP’s success that now all provinces will have equal representation,” he said.

“We must confront today’s crises with positive politics”

The PPP chairman said it is their responsibility to confront the current challenges facing the country. “The reality is that Pakistan is going through a historic crisis. We believe in positive politics and must represent our people through it,” he said.

He described how Pakistan is surrounded by challenges — an economic crisis, rising terrorism, international conspiracies aimed at weakening the country, and political infighting that is harming society.

Bilawal asked whether Pakistan should continue with a politics of hatred and division or choose a path of hope and unity. “We will choose positive politics,” he concluded.

“Second wave of terrorism surging from Balochistan to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa”

He further said that the PPP has always raised its voice against terrorism, and that the late Benazir Bhutto was the most prominent voice against it. “Have we forgotten that we made the greatest sacrifice? Can we deny that due to international conspiracies and our own national failures, a second wave of terrorism is at its peak — from Balochistan to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa?” he asked.

The PPP chairman said that only by eliminating deprivation, addressing backwardness, fully implementing provincial autonomy, and strengthening democracy can this ideological battle be won.

“We must immediately confront the beasts who are playing with the blood of the Pakistani people,” he said. “To advance their political goals and further international conspiracies, innocent people in Pakistan are being martyred — sometimes by suicide bombings in mosques during Ramadan in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and at other times by shooting down labourers in Balochistan.”

Bilawal Bhutto said that terrorists have neither a religion nor a nationality. “They are toys, hired killers who sell their nation and faith to global powers — and then kill their own people on their orders.”

He said, “We have defeated terrorists before by fighting them, and we will defeat them again together. We will confront them politically and on international platforms. They have declared war on Pakistan, and we must unite on this one agenda — to protect our people and avenge the killing of innocents.”

“We must forget our differences and unite against terrorism”

The PPP chairman stressed the need to set aside internal differences and political disputes. “Yes, we may have thousands of complaints against the police, the army, the federal and provincial governments — and we will continue to raise those — but when it comes to confronting terrorism, every PPP worker stands with Pakistan.”

“Appeal to opposition: Join the war against terrorism”

He added that every patriotic Pakistani has a duty to stand by the country in this war. “In such a time, the role of the government, the prime minister, and his team is crucial — and we will support them in these efforts. We appeal to the opposition to play its role too. Whatever other issues you may have — whether it’s about ‘Prisoner No. 804’ or anything else — politics is your right, and you may carry on with it.”

He emphasized that when it comes to confronting international conspiracies and the threat to Pakistan, the opposition must also step up. “No single party or province can take on terrorists alone. If we unite, we will inflict a crushing defeat on them.”

Bilawal, who also served as foreign minister, acknowledged the government’s claim that inflation is not increasing. “The PPP welcomes this achievement and hopes it will benefit the people of Pakistan.”

He said that Pakistan’s youth demand employment opportunities. “Through the People’s Housing Scheme, we have created one million job opportunities.”

He also highlighted the efforts made in Tharparkar to ensure local employment. “The way we have brought an economic revolution to Tharparkar — where women from the desert are now working as truck drivers and engineers — we want similar development across the country, where the people are the beneficiaries.”

“We won’t vote for the budget without consultation on development projects”

Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said the government had agreed with them that development projects in all four provinces would be finalised jointly by the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz and the Pakistan Peoples Party. “Let me assure you — without this consultation, we will not vote for any budget,” he declared.

He added that the PPP would sit with the government to formulate the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) and the budget. “We played a role in strengthening the federation; we preserved it through sacrifices.”

“We are the ones who say Pakistan khappay — the terrorists want to break this country”

Bilawal said the terrorists want to break Pakistan, but the PPP believes in its unity. “Shaheed Benazir Bhutto had promised to raise Pakistan’s flag in Swat — and it was the PPP that fulfilled that promise.”

He warned that if anyone, from any corner of the country, even dreams of taking down Pakistan’s flag, they will first have to face PPP workers and Bilawal Bhutto himself.

He further said that those seeking to exploit the situation in Balochistan to harm Pakistan will be resisted.

“PPP will respond to those spreading hate and division in Sindh”

The PPP chairman stated that those trying to spread hatred and division in Sindh will be answered by his party. “When it comes to the fair distribution of water, our track record is before you. Who stopped the controversial dam project? It was Shaheed Benazir Bhutto.”

He added that after Benazir’s assassination, the PPP buried that project. “PPP stalwart Raja Pervez Ashraf, as water minister, had declared that the project was buried — and now we also oppose the canals.”

“PPP workers have grown old protesting canals on the Indus”

Bilawal remarked, “For thousands of years, our generations have known one thing: to live alongside rivers and grow crops.”

He said PPP workers have grown old struggling against unilateral and controversial decisions — whether they were General Musharraf’s canal plans or Imran Khan’s. “We have consistently said: canals on the Indus are unacceptable.”

The PPP chairman pointed out that even IRSA (Indus River System Authority) reports confirm water shortages in Punjab. “Punjab’s farmers are complaining of water scarcity, and southern Punjab’s growers are suffering. It is the PPP that is fighting the case for the fair distribution of water.”

He said that during the inauguration of a clean drinking water project in Rato Dero, he had made it clear in a press conference that unilateral decisions would not be accepted. “On December 27, we rejected these decisions — and in January, the PPP’s Central Executive Committee issued a statement explaining our grievances with the government.”

Bilawal said it has been a year, and no one can say the PPP took ministries in return. “Our senior leader Nayyar Bukhari read out the CEC decision: PPP does not support the government’s unilateral decisions regarding canals.”

He recalled that even the President of Pakistan, during a joint parliamentary session, stated that the government’s decisions — particularly new canals from the Indus despite provincial objections — were unilateral, and he opposed them as President.

He added, “President Zardari has always represented the federation — how can he compromise it? That’s not possible. Pakistan’s four provinces are like four brothers. If they unite in any endeavour, no force in the world can stand in their way.”