PPP Secretary General Syed Nayyar Hussain Bokhari on Sunday emphasized that provincial autonomy must remain free from interference, in remarks linked to the proposed 28th Constitutional Amendment. He noted that no details of the amendment have been presented in writing so far.
NFC and Provincial Resources
Bokhari highlighted that the National Finance Commission (NFC) issue has been raised under the 28th Amendment. He stated that the provinces resolved the matter themselves and provided funds to the federation from their own resources. This appears to refer to a recent arrangement where the government froze development allocations for provinces for three years to generate over Rs900 billion for the Centre's strategic needs ahead of the FY2026-27 budget.
PPP and PML-N Relations
While the PPP supported the PML-N in budget formulation, Bokhari asserted that the politics of both parties remain separate. He also referenced a statement by PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, saying it was issued keeping ground realities in view, though he did not specify which statement.
Local Government Elections
Bilawal recently criticized the PML-N for delaying local government polls in Punjab and Islamabad, accusing it of trying to create differences between the PPP and the MQM-P. In the National Assembly, he challenged the PML-N to hold local government elections in Islamabad and Lahore within 90 days. Bokhari stressed that citizens should be given their rights through LG elections, adding that the PPP won the local government elections in Karachi with public support. He noted that the MQM did not participate in the last LG polls, and the JI would have had a right to the mayorship only if the people had voted for them.
