Bilawal snubs meeting with PM Shehbaz

ISLAMABAD: In a significant political development, Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has declined a meeting with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, despite a request from the federal government following his criticism, ARY News reported.

Sources confirmed to ARY News that after Bilawal’s remarks, the government extended an offer for a meeting, which was promptly rejected.

Bilawal explained that his refusal was not based on personal issues with the government, but rather stemmed from the concerns of his voters and provincial governments. Bilawal Bhutto emphasized that the PPP had grievances with the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) over its handling of administrative matters in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP).

The former foreign minister, Bilawal Bhutto noted that the PML-N had been sidelining PPP in the administrative affairs of these provinces, despite an earlier agreement that the PPP would be a partner in managing the administrative matters in both Punjab and KP. He further expressed dissatisfaction with the lack of consultation with PPP governors regarding the governance in these provinces.

Additionally, Bilawal Bhutto raised concerns over the federal government’s approach towards the development plans in Sindh and Balochistan, highlighting the PPP’s reservations over the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) in these provinces.

To address these issues, Bilawal has formed a committee that includes two chief ministers and two governors, urging the federal government and the prime minister to meet with this committee to resolve the issues. He expressed his surprise at the government ignoring the demands of PPP workers and voters.

Earlier on Wednesday, PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari formed a committee to raise grievances with the Federal government.

As per details, the committee comprised Raja Pervez Ashraf, Naveed Qamar, Sherry Rehman, Chief Minister Sindh Murad Ali Shah, Chief Minister Balochistan Mir Sarfaraz Bugti, Makhdoom Ahmed Mahmoud, Governor Punjab Sardar Saleem Hyder, Governor Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Faisal Karim Kundi and Haider Gilani.

The committee will interact with the Federal government to raise the different issues and will submit its report to the meeting of Central Executive Committee (CEC) to be held next month.