KARACHI: PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari once again on Friday pinned his hopes to PM Shehbaz Sharif, urging him to fulfil the promises he made regarding the development of Karachi.

He said the Sindh government has consistently raised the city issues with the federal authorities in Islamabad, while at the party level, he has repeatedly engaged with the PML-N to push for the fulfillment of commitments made to the metropolis.

“At the government level, it’s the Sindh and federal governments that interact, while at the party level, it’s the PPP and PML-N that engage,” the PPP leader said while talking to reporters in Karachi when asked about Islamabad’s apparent lack of interest in addressing Karachi issues.

“We repeatedly draw the prime minister’s attention to Karachi’s key issues, including projects like K-IV. And we remain hopeful that the prime minister will continue working on his promise to bring ‘Shehbaz Speed’ to Karachi’s development,” Mr Bhutto-Zardari said.

Says Sindh govt has consistently raised city’s issues with federal authorities

The PPP chairman also offered a nuanced take on the federal government’s response to recent floods — simultaneously praising the declaration of an agricultural emergency and relief in August electric bills as welcome steps, while criticising the failure to launch a global aid appeal for the affected communities, calling it “unfortunate”.

He explained the reasons behind his persistent call for the issuance of a global aid appeal, stating that the delay in doing so is directly hindering timely assistance and relief efforts for flood-affected people.

“When a disaster of this scale strikes, the immediate response should be to reach out to international organisations that are specifically established to help in such situations,” he said.

“You inform them that a natural calamity has hit your country, and seek assistance from those who have the technical expertise — whether in health, disaster management, or climate-related challenges. Unfortunately, that appeal still hasn’t been made. As a result, the immediate relief and rescue support that Pakistan should have received has yet to arrive,” the PPP leader said.

Published in Dawn, September 20th, 2025