KARACHI: The Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) has decided to vote for Budget 2023-23 as differences between the two ruling allies have apparently ‘resolved’.
The party has barred its leaders from giving statements against the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N).
According to sources privy to the development, the federal government has approved additional Rs30 billion for Sindh, which according to the latter will be used for restoration of flood-affected houses and infrastructure. “It was one of the demands of the PPP and reason behind the differences between the allies. However, the federal government acted swiftly to placate the PPP and allocated the funds”, the sources informed.
A day earlier, Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif assured Sindh Chief Minister (CM) Syed Murad Ali Shah of allocating Rs25 billion funds for the flood victims in the budget 2023-24.
Sindh CM Murad Ali Shah held a one-on-one meeting with PM Shehbaz Sharif in Islamabad. Sources said the chief minister raised the matter of special allocations for the flood affectees in the federal budget 2023-24.
He apprised PM Sharif that the Sindh government allocated Rs25 billion funds for the flood victims and the federal government should also allocate Rs25 billion for the rehabilitation of the flood affectees. CM Shah also demanded the premier for special allocations for the flood victims from global aid.
The premier assured CM Shah of allocating Rs25 billion allocations for flood affectees in the federal budget. After meeting the premier, CM Shah departed for Karachi from Islamabad.
The government has been facing criticism from almost all coalition partners on the budget during the budget debate that is currently in progress in the National Assembly.
Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, who is also chairman of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), indicated at a public meeting in Swat on Saturday that his party may not vote for the budget unless its concerns about the budget were addressed.
The PPP leader said the prime minister had promised to keep funds for rehabilitation of flood-hit people in the budget, but some members of his team “were not fulfilling those promises”.
