Budget 2024: Bilawal concerned over ‘non-allocation of funds’ for flood victims

SWAT: Foreign Minister and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has criticised the incumbent government for ‘not allocating funds’ for flood victims in Budget 2023-24, regretting that the ministers were not fulfilling their promises, ARY News reported on Saturday.

Addressing a public gathering in Swat, the PPP chairman – who is part of the Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif-led cabinet – noted that no funds were allocated for the rehabilitation of flood victims in the budget 2023-24.

“We have sent our high-level delegation to PM Shehbaz Sharif to raise concerns that PPP has very little input in the budget,” he said, adding: “I was surprised when I saw that no funds were allocated for rehabilitation of flood victims.”

Bilawal Bhutto pointed out that the federal government had made promises to the provincial governments last year that it would help the flood victims.

“I have no doubt on prime minister’s intention, but his team is not fulfilling the promises and the premier should hold them answerable,” he remarked.

The PPP chairman added that his party would not vote for this budget if the government did not allocate funds for flood reconstruction.

Read More: Ishaq Dar unveils federal budget for FY 2023-24 with total outlay of 14.5tr

Speaking of terrorism, the foreign minister praised the people of Swat for “fighting the menace bravely”. He said people involved in the extremist incidents of 9th and 10th May cannot be forgiven.

He said it was very binding to punish those people strictly for maintaining the rule of law in the country. He stressed that “political terrorists” who launched multiple attacks on security installations would be eliminated from the system.

Bilawal claimed that PTI chief was involved in bringing terrorism again to the country mentioning the PPP would make every effort to bring peace adding the PPP did not believe in abusive culture, rather it believed in serving people.

The foreign minister said that the PPP did not have any competition with political parties but rather with poverty and hunger adding the BISP was a revolutionary idea that improved the lives of people.