{"id":30843,"date":"2025-12-09T18:04:16","date_gmt":"2025-12-09T18:04:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/?p=30843"},"modified":"2025-12-09T18:04:16","modified_gmt":"2025-12-09T18:04:16","slug":"bilawal-urges-consensus-based-approach-on-new-provinces","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/?p=30843","title":{"rendered":"Bilawal urges consensus-based approach on new provinces"},"content":{"rendered":"
Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has called for the creation of new provinces only where there is consensus, urging the government to focus on areas with agreement before pursuing plans to establish 20 provinces.<\/p>\n

Speaking to the media on Tuesday, he said the National Assembly has already agreed on certain provinces and stressed that proposals, ready for implementation, should be carried out immediately.<\/p>\n

Bilawal noted that the PPP has historically maintained governance while, at times, implementing governor’s rule when necessary. Citing Punjab assembly’s legislation to create a province and establish local government, he compared it with Sindh\u2019s even stronger framework and stressed that political stability requires cooperation among parties. He warned that failure to engage concerned quarters could create provincial challenges.<\/p>\n

Recalling the PPP\u2019s successful no-confidence motion that removed a sitting prime minister, Bilawal criticised the PTI for consistently adopting a disruptive approach and called for constructive engagement among political parties. When asked about meeting PTI Chairman Imran Khan at Adiala Jail, he reiterated the need for all parties to maintain dialogue.<\/p>\n

Separately, Bilawal warned that Pakistan\u2019s economy ‘cannot be run with sticks’, urging the government to abandon coercive measures and adopt a cooperative, decentralised approach to economic planning.<\/p>\n

Addressing a ceremony hosted by the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FPCCI), he said Pakistan\u2019s business history is often misrepresented, but the focus should be on the future. He assured that the PPP would work alongside the FPCCI\u2019s advisory group to strengthen economic initiatives and district-level planning.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne difference between the prime minister\u2019s team and our team is that they favour centralisation, while we believe in decentralisation. If you prepare district-wise plans, it will strengthen our arguments, and I appreciate your recommendations for economic offices,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Bilawal stressed that governments often rely on coercion to manage the economy, but “a country cannot be run by force alone\u2014it must be run with cooperation”. He added,\u00a0\u201cYou attract more with honey than with vinegar.\u201d He also urged competitive tax rates, respect for the business community, and voluntary compliance to achieve better economic results.<\/p>\n

Providing a practical example, Bilawal noted that before the 18th Amendment, the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) collected sales tax on services. After devolution, Sindh immediately took responsibility for collection and has since exceeded FBR records. Punjab, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, and Balochistan have also surpassed previous federal collections. \u201cThis demonstrates that decentralisation works,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

He highlighted the PPP\u2019s overarching goal to increase revenue, enhance tax collection, and expand the tax net while promoting economic growth and human development.<\/p>\n

Bilawal expressed pride in Pakistan\u2019s longstanding, three-generation relationship with China, noting that the country has not fully capitalised on business incentives offered by Beijing. He also pointed to opportunities created by the recent tariff war and Europe\u2019s GSP Plus status, which had led to a 60 per cent increase in exports to Europe during his tenure as foreign minister.<\/p>\n

He acknowledged that the president, the governors of Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, the Sindh government, and the prime minister are actively working to resolve issues faced by the business community. He reiterated that while the prime minister favours centralisation, the PPP believes decentralisation is key to sustainable growth and supports FPCCI\u2019s district-level programmes.<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has called for the creation of new provinces only where there is consensus, urging the government to focus on areas with agreement before pursuing plans to establish 20 provinces. Speaking to the media on Tuesday, he said the National Assembly has already agreed on certain provinces and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-30843","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-english-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30843","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=30843"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30843\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=30843"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=30843"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=30843"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}