HYDERABAD / BADIN / SUKKUR: The Sindh United Party (SUP) has demanded the immediate withdrawal of provincial funds transferred to the federal government, alleging that the 2026-27 budget directly violates the National Finance Commission (NFC) Award.

Following a central executive committee meeting chaired by SUP President Syed Zain Shah, the party announced plans to stage protests across Sindh on July 5.

Addressing the committee, Shah warned that Pakistan has been plunged into its worst-ever political and economic crisis, with unemployment, poverty and lawlessness escalating daily.

He attributed the instability to a deficit in genuine democracy, claiming that political activities remain suppressed and that parliament is currently occupied by representatives elected on the controversial basis of “Form-47” who fail to truly represent the public.

Reviewing the 2026-27 federal budget, the SUP committee condemned the fiscal plan as “anti-Sindh and anti-people”. The party claimed that Rs500 billion had been slashed from the province’s allocation in breach of the NFC Award, branding the move an “extra-constitutional robbery” of Sindh’s fiscal rights.

Demands for reform

In response to soaring inflation, the meeting called for a 20 per cent pay rise for civil servants in pay scales BS-1 to BS-16, alongside an equivalent increase in pensions. The SUP also demanded that domestic petrol prices be capped at Rs200 per litre, citing the downward trend of crude oil in international markets.

Turning to energy security, the committee insisted on Sindh’s right to retain its local gas and electricity production to bring an end to severe blackouts. Despite being Pakistan’s largest producer of natural gas, the province faces an acute shortage, leaving households unable to cook — a situation the party blamed on the “criminal negligence” of the provincial government.

Corruption and institutional trust

The SUP further accused the ruling Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and local police of complicity in the regional narcotics trade, stating that state-sponsored drug distribution is destroying the future of thousands of young people.

To restore trust among the region’s youth, the party demanded a complete re-test of the Sindh Public Service Commission’s (SPSC) 2024 Combined Competitive Examination. Citing 17 years of non-transparent appointments, the SUP urged a structural overhaul of how the commission’s chairman and members are selected, arguing that only individuals of “impeccable integrity” can restore meritocracy to the civil service.

AT protest

Awami Tehreek (AT), along with its allied nationalist groups, on Tuesday held rallies in several cities of Sindh as part of its sustained campaign against ‘anti-Sindh’ and ‘anti-people’ policies of the federal and Sindh government.

AT’s Badin chapter leaders led a rally and sit-in in Tando Bago town over a famine-like situation in Sindh following a drastic cut in Sindh’s share of Indus water.

They also condemned moves to pave the way for the proposed 28th constitutional amendment. They vowed to resist all such moves tooth and nail.

The rally participants started their march from Allah Wala Chowk to Badar Chowk, where they held the sit-in and raised slogans against the federal and Sindh governments.

Speaking to them, local AT leaders called for immediate steps to end the water crisis; strict action against drug trafficking; end to honour killings; provision of immediate relief to people from inflation; completion of stalled development projects; improved healthcare facilities and an end to prolonged electricity and gas loadshedding across Sindh.

In Tangwani town of Kandhkot-Kashmore district, local AT leaders and activists held a demonstration and took out a rally against diversion of Sindh’s water to Punjab, the proposed amendment, worsening law and order situation, and violence against women.

Sindhi Mazdoor Tehreek leader Sultan Gujrani, Sindhi Hari Tehreek leaders Wahid Bakhsh Khoso, Nek Mohammad, Sunaro Singh, Krishan Singh, and Taj Khoso; and other AT-allied groups’ activists joined in the rally that began from Masha Allah Hotel and culminated at Tangwani bus stop.

Participants raised slogans for Sindh’s water rights, public safety, women’s protection and provincial autonomy.

The leaders said that the tail-end areas of several irrigation channels, including Gahno Branch, Shahi Branch, Tangwani Branch, Unar Branch and Tooj Branch had dried up, turning thousands of acres baron and causing severe hardship to farmers.

They vowed to intensify their campaign against “grabbing of Sindh’s resources”.

Published in Dawn, July 1st, 2026