PPP to start election campaign with Bilawal’s Swat rally on 17th

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan People’s Party said on Monday that it had started preparations for the next general elections and Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari will address a public rally in Swat on June 17 to give a future roadmap.

“Former President Asif Ali Zardari has held meetings regarding the election in Lahore and the PPP will win the general election in the same way it won in the AJK by-election,” said Federal Minister for Poverty Alleviation and Social Security Shazia Marri and Special Assistant to PM on Poverty Alleviation and Social Security Faisal Karim Kundi alongwith PPP’s Media Coordinator Nazir Dhoki at a press conference here Monday.

They expresses good wishes for the new party—Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party—in politics and said the PPP would compete with it in the upcoming general elections. “The journey from the plane to red line was good but will they now prepare for the journey in Boeing,” they said.

Shazia Marri said that the administration of Sindh was on high alert in the wake of the cyclone Biparjoy as Sindh’s coastal areas of Sajawal, Thatta and Badin were facing the danger. “The provincial government is continuously monitoring the situation and repeatedly giving instructions to the people. More than 80,000 people are being shifted to safe places. The Sindh government is putting in serious efforts to protect its people from the storm,” she added.

She thanked Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif for the provision of Rs 70 billion from the Benazir Income Support Programme to flood victims and thus every affected family was immediately provided with an assistance of Rs 25,000. Shesaid the government had enhanced budgetary allocations by 12.3 percent for the Benazir Income Support Programme to help the downtrodden. “The programme was given legal cover in the past and it has been running successfully for the last 15 years,” she added.

She said Rs 455 billion have been allocated to ensure social protection of the poor segments of society. The minister said over 9 million poor women directly benefited from it. She said the quarterly stipend provided to the poor women will be enhanced this year.

Terming the Benazir Nashonuma Program a vital programme to address the issue of malnutrition and stunted growth of infants, Shazia Marri said that Rs32.27 have been allocated for this programme. She said highly nourishing food items were being provided to pregnant women to ensure their health.

Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Poverty Alleviation and Social Safety Faisal Karim Kundi urged the Sindh government to follow all the instructions to protect the citizens from the cyclone.

Kundi said that the manifesto of the Pakistan People’s Party was a welfare state and Rs 82 billion had been added to the budget of Baitul Mal.