Chairman Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has urged the federal government to keep its doors open for talks with the opposition, give up its habit of picking fights with everyone, and engage with all stakeholders. Speaking to the media on November 07 in Larkana, Bhutto advised the national leadership to prioritize meaningful consultation over political confrontation, noting that spending energy on fighting one another leaves fewer resources to ease the suffering of the people.
During his visit to Larkana, Bhutto laid the foundation of a 600-bed hospital at Chandka Medical Hospital. He stated that his initial meetings with staff at the facility, which was established by Quaid-e-Awam Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto in 1970, made him realize the hospital was burdened by a growing population and patients from Balochistan. He expressed pleasure that the new 600-bed hospital is on course to finish a month ahead of schedule.
Bhutto highlighted the Sindh government's focus on health and education, noting that while the federal Higher Education Commission provides roughly Rs65 billion in grants to universities nationwide, the Sindh government alone provides roughly Rs45 billion to universities within its own province. He also mentioned the inauguration of Larkana University the previous day and expressed hope that the proposed SIUT facility in Larkana will also play an important role in providing free treatment to the local population.
Regarding infrastructure, Bhutto noted that while projects launched by Zulfikar Ali Bhutto in the 1970s and Benazir Bhutto in the 1990s served the population well at the time, population growth has made them inadequate. He stated that water supply, sewerage, and drainage projects for Larkana city are currently at the planning stage, while work on water supply and sewerage schemes in Qambar Shahdadkot is under way. He expressed hope that these projects would be completed within the next one to two years.
On federal-provincial relations, Bhutto described his meeting with the Prime Minister in Islamabad before coming to Larkana as highly positive and constructive, stating that a strategy for better coordination was agreed upon. He argued that while the two sides may differ on political matters, cooperation should take priority on projects serving the public interest. He acknowledged a journalist's observation that Sindh has long been neglected regarding federal development resources, noting a clear disparity in the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) allocations. He pointed out that while Sindh faces road problems, Balochistan’s grievances regarding federal road projects are even more serious.
