Bilawal defends Sindh Housing scheme, proposes international audit to address corruption claims

KARACHI: Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has rejected allegations of corruption in the Sindh People's Housing Scheme accusing political opponents of attempting to discredit the provincial government through what he described as a smear campaign.

KARACHI: Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has rejected allegations of corruption in the Sindh People’s Housing Scheme accusing political opponents of attempting to discredit the provincial government through what he described as a smear campaign.

Speaking in Karachi on Tuesday Bilawal challenged the critics to seek an independent international audit of the project saying Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah should approach international organisations to examine its performance and finances.

He expressed confidence that an audit would establish the transparency of the initiative insisting that no corruption had taken place. He also urged political opponents to focus on the government’s public welfare work instead of repeatedly targeting the province.

Discussing relations between the federal and provincial governments Bilawal said cooperation was essential to resolving the country’s challenges. He noted that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had maintained a more cooperative approach towards Sindh adding that both governments had assured each other of continued coordination.

The PPP chairman said people were more interested in knowing which political parties were addressing their everyday problems than in political disputes. He called for unity and collective efforts to tackle economic and other national difficulties.

One million homes completed for flood victims

Defending the housing initiative Bilawal described it as one of the world’s largest housing programmes and said the Sindh government had completed one million homes for families affected by devastating floods.

He recalled witnessing the scale of the disaster while visiting Larkana during the heavy rains. Travelling with the then prime minister, he said had given him a firsthand view of the extensive flooding.

Bilawal said he had promised affected women that the government would help them rebuild their lives by providing permanent homes. According to him, the initiative had now delivered one million houses, with an overall target of two million homes also cited during his remarks. He additionally referred to a five-million-house target for flood-affected families.

He highlighted that beneficiaries had received ownership rights to their homes and the land on which they were built with properties registered in women’s names. He said the arrangement was intended to provide greater security to families who had previously lacked permanent shelter.

Bilawal credited international partners, particularly the World Bank for supporting the project and said the institution had demonstrated confidence in the Sindh government by releasing funds.

Comparing reconstruction efforts in Sindh and Balochistan he said the federal government had constructed around 30,000 houses in Balochistan over three years against the one million homes he said had been completed in Sindh.

He maintained that improving healthcare providing essential services and easing the financial pressure on ordinary citizens remained key government responsibilities.