KARACHI: The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) has asked the federal government to increase from Rs12,000 to Rs17,500 the amount of cash being given to families affected by the economic crisis caused by the lockdown in the wake of Covid-19.

Presiding over a meeting of the party’s economic team on Tuesday through video link, PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari questioned the role of the Centre in the ongoing relief and effort to minimise the spread of the virus, saying the provinces were performing more than their capacity with no support from the federal government.

He warned the federal government to stay away from any such move which challenged the authority and constitutional powers of the provinces.

“The relief package announced by the federal government is not enough,” said a statement issued by the Bilawal House after the meeting.

“The government should increase the cash relief to the affected families from Rs12,000 to Rs17,500 which is the minimum wage in the country. The federal government has abandoned the provinces in this crisis and is blaming the 18th Amendment for all its mismanagement.”

The meeting agreed that the federal government had failed to channelise its efforts and contribute to the provincial affairs of health in these challenging times when the world’s greatest economies were down to their knees. Around the world, it said, the centre was supporting its provincial governments and leading the role of governance from the front, but in Pakistan the provinces were left alone to face the crisis.

Published in Dawn, April 29th, 2020