Bilawal accuses ‘some forces’ of rolling back provincial powers, shifting resources to Islamabad

Pakistan Peoples Party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari on Wednesday accused “some forces” of deliberately promoting a narrative that Sindh and smaller provinces had failed to perform, warning that the campaign was aimed at justifying the rollback of provincial powers and resources to Islamabad.

Speaking at the inauguration of the Thar Institute of Engineering, Science and Technology — affiliated with NED University of Engineering and Technology — on the Mithi–Islamkot Road in Tharparkar, Bilawal said development in Tharparkar is the strongest response to what he described as a “deliberate conspiracy” aimed at rolling back the constitutional rights, authority and resources of provinces.

“The biggest rebuttal to this false narrative is Tharparkar itself,” he said, pointing to the contrast between the district’s conditions before 2008 and the situation following the 18th Constitutional Amendment.

Bilawal said the Pakistan Peoples Party believed in pro-poor and people-centric governance, adding that his party was willing to compete with other provinces and governments in education, health and development. “No one can defeat the people of Sindh in this competition,” he said.

He stressed that development in Tharparkar and in all four provinces was essential for Pakistan’s overall progress, rejecting the idea that provincial development could only flow from the federal capital.

Referring to Thar coal, Bilawal said the resource belonged to the people of Tharparkar and described it as an asset comparable in scale to Saudi Arabia’s oil reserves. He said repeated attempts by former prime minister Benazir Bhutto to utilise the coal reserves had been thwarted, delaying economic benefits for decades.

He said the use of Thar coal after 2008 had not only brought economic change to the region but had also contributed electricity to the national grid, benefiting industrial centres such as Faisalabad. “This is how a strong federation functions,” he said.

Bilawal said economic activity in Thar had led to a parallel social transformation, with investments in healthcare resulting in a network of dispensaries, basic health units and hospitals across the district. He cited the role of the Thar Foundation and a public-private partnership with Indus Hospital as examples of improved health services.

On education, he said the inauguration of the NED-affiliated institute fulfilled a long-standing demand of local youth. He noted that classes began in 2019 in a government building and that the Sindh government had now inaugurated a dedicated campus, with a commitment to upgrade it into a full-fledged university before the end of its term.

Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah, Provincial Minister for Universities and Boards Muhammad Ismail Rahoo, and NED University Vice Chancellor Tufail Ahmed also addressed the ceremony.

Bilawal said the PPP government had doubled the number of universities in Sindh since 2008, adding that the figure was even higher when campuses were included. He said the party would continue investing in education and health in the public interest.

Expressing satisfaction over the high number of female students at the institute, Bilawal said it reflected Benazir Bhutto’s vision of equal access to education for women. He also welcomed students from Gilgit-Baltistan studying at the campus, calling it a sign of national integration.