HYDERABAD: Sindh United Party (SUP) Chief Syed Zain Shah has accused the government of governing the country in a largely extra-constitutional manner by allowing the National Economic Council to make decisions that undermine provincial autonomy and the 18th Amendment.
At a press conference at the Hyderabad Press Club on Friday, he denounced the decision to cut Rs1,500 billion from provincial funds, including Rs300 billion from Sindh. "Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) should better resign and go home," he said, lamenting that the centre is taking away one provincial resource after another.
He said President Asif Ali Zardari had, on July 8, 2024, approved the construction of new canals on the Indus River, a decision that was later cancelled, and now his son and PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has accepted hundreds of billions of rupees in cuts to provincial funds. "The PPP is compromising on the 18th Amendment and the National Finance Commission (NFC) Award," he alleged.
Shah said that in addition to defence expenditures, the centre would utilise these funds to build dams that would later curtail Sindh's share of river water. "Provincial funds have been taken away under this new formula," he said.
Referring to the 57.5% share of provinces and 42.5% of the federal government under the 7th NFC Award, Shah said they already had reservations about the formula, as it allocated 82% of resources on the basis of population. He maintained that any investment of taxpayers' money in the construction of dams would be detrimental to Sindh, and that the province's people would not accept it.
Shah lamented that Sindh's Rs3.65 trillion budget for fiscal year 2026-27 had reduced the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) to Rs520 billion from Rs720 billion in the previous year. He pointed out that instead of increasing the PSDP component, a 29% reduction had been made to appease the centre. The education budget, he said, had been reduced from Rs100 billion to Rs75 billion.
He contended that providing hundreds of billions of rupees from provincial funds to the centre for three years amounted to a compromise on provincial autonomy, the NFC Award and the 18th Amendment. "Doesn't this move fall within the ambit of Article 6?" he questioned.
The SUP leader said the K-IV mega water supply scheme, the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system, and other vital development projects in Karachi required around Rs500 billion in federal funds, but instead of providing them, the centre was "snatching" provincial resources.
He also rejected a 7% salary increase for government employees and called for it to be doubled to 15%. "Inflation stood at 11.7% in May 2026 alone, but the annual salary increase of only 7% has been given to government employees," he said.
