Governor’s Rule: Bilawal urges political solution before emergency measures

Addressing the inauguration of Treatment Plant-I under the Greater Karachi Sewerage Plan, Bilawal said political differences should be resolved through dialogue and kept separate from terrorism and national security issues. He said governor’s rule and emergency were constitutional options, but political parties should first exhaust efforts to reach an agreement.

His remarks came amid a political standoff between the federal government and the PTI-backed KP government, as negotiations over security and counterterrorism measures coincided with PTI’s planned march towards Islamabad.

Bilawal said the PPP had supported talks between the federal government and PTI and called for a written agreement between Islamabad and the KP government setting out how the two sides would work together against terrorism. He stressed that counterterrorism should be treated as a national issue rather than a political dispute.

The PPP chairman also spoke about Karachi’s water shortage, saying water scarcity was a national problem but that Sindh and Karachi faced particularly severe difficulties. He claimed Sindh was not receiving its due share of water and that Karachi was not being supplied according to the 1991 Water Apportionment Accord.

Bilawal said the accord provided for additional water for Karachi, but alleged that the agreed arrangements had not been fully implemented. He called for Sindh and Karachi to receive their due share.

He also criticised the federal government over gas supplies to Sindh, arguing that the province was not receiving its full share despite producing gas. His comments reflected longstanding provincial-federal disagreements over the distribution of natural resources.

Bilawal said several projects were being accelerated to improve Karachi’s water supply. He pointed to the newly inaugurated Treatment Plant-I, which will initially treat 35 million gallons of wastewater a day and is planned to reach a capacity of 100 million gallons in a later phase. The treated water is intended primarily for industrial use, helping reduce pressure on the city’s freshwater resources.

Federal-PTI Talks: Naqvi says KP government backed out of counterterrorism commitments

He also recalled the inauguration of a separate 25-million-gallon water treatment facility in Keamari and said further measures were being taken to improve water availability for Karachi residents.

Turning to security, Bilawal said terrorism in KP and Balochistan had consequences for Karachi and the wider country. He urged political parties to avoid viewing terrorism through a partisan lens and called for collective action against militant violence.

Bilawal also alleged that terrorist attacks were being carried out from Afghanistan and that India was involved in supporting terrorism. These were presented as his political assertions; they remain contested allegations and were not independently established in the remarks.

He said political disagreements should be addressed separately from national security concerns and reiterated his call for dialogue between the federal government and PTI.

The comments came as federal-PTI negotiations ended without consensus over security commitments, access to jailed PTI founder Imran Khan and other political demands. The breakdown has added to tensions surrounding the PTI’s planned march towards Islamabad.