Bilawal warns of countrywide movement if IMF deal not revised

KARACHI: The Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari warned the government of a "countrywide movement" if it does not renegotiate its deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

The PPP chairman was speaking at the inauguration event of the People's Urban Forest programme in Lyari on Tuesday, Geo News reported.

He labelled it the "PTIMF" budget and said that the government had not negotiated the appropriate budget for the people. "We call upon the government to renegotiate its deal with the IMF," he said. "If that does not happen, we will launch a countrywide movement against this budget which is an enemy of the people," he added.

The PPP chairman said that neither did the people of Pakistan nor the PPP accept the budget by the PTI government. He blamed the PTI, saying that their government was robbing people of their economic rights.

"The federal government is robbing people of their economic rights," he said. "Last year they gave us less than Rs100 billion in the NFC Award. This year, they have provided us Rs140 billion. With such an amount, how can we give employment to our people?" he asked. He said that the PPP had always empowered the poor of the country and made policies for their welfare. Bilawal said the PPP had always provided employment to the people of Pakistan. "If arrangements could not be made to employ people in Pakistan then we ensured that their passports were made free so they could seek employment abroad," he said.

Bilawal described the "Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP)" as a revolutionary concept and said that it was the first safety net initiative of Pakistan. He blamed the government for "robbing" the people of the BISP and the money that was given to them as a result of the programme. The PPP chairman called upon the people to become his source of strength so that the party is able to form its government again.

Meanwhile, on the occasion of Kashsmir Solidarity Day, Bilawal said that the only solution to the Kashmir issue is to respect to the wishes of the Kashmiri people and plebiscite in light of the UN resolutions to allow them to determine their own fate. “The inaction of the international community in enforcing the UN resolutions had been a betrayal of the people of Kashmir,” he said.

Bilawal said that every city, street and village in Pakistan is united by a single call, a call of solidarity with our Kashmiri brothers and sisters. “The people of Pakistan stand shoulder to shoulder with the Kashmiri people in the struggle for their right to self-determination,” he said.