Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) chairperson Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has said he will appeal to the federal government to waive electricity bills for farmers and flood-affected people, as he toured flood-stricken areas of Punjab on Monday.
Speaking to reporters in Muzaffargarh, Bilawal said an agricultural emergency was needed to support farmers hit hard by the devastation.
He has made the suggestion to the Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to use the Benazir Income Support Program (BISP) to distribute financial compensation to flood victims.
Bilawal stated that in previous such times, like the floods that took place during his tenure in the PDM government in 2022 and even during COVID, BISP was used as a means to monetarily help people.
Read: Catastrophic rains, floods to trigger food shortages in Pakistan: UN
He also urged the Foreign Office to seek international aid and called on UN agencies operating in Pakistan to contribute to relief and rehabilitation efforts.
Chairperson appealed for political unity, urging all parties to set aside differences to face the crisis. However, when pressed by reporters over the shortage of boats, life jackets and flood camps, he offered no concrete answers, saying only that the state was trying its best in the face of an unprecedented disaster.
Read more: Sindh on alert as Punjab floodwaters rush south
Floods this monsoon have claimed more than 900 lives, destroyed crops and displaced thousands across Punjab and Sindh.
Water inflows in the Indus River are expected to rise further in the coming days, with high flows forecast at the Guddu barrage.
