Kasur/Islamabad (5 September 2025) Chairman Pakistan Peoples Party, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari visited the flood-affected areas of Kasur on Friday. He was accompanied by the former Prime Minister and PPP Central Punjab President, Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, Governor Punjab, Sardar Saleem Haider, PPP Central Secretary Information Nadeem Afzal Chan, In-charge of the PPP Peoples Labour Bureau, Chaudhry Manzoor Ahmed, and PPP Punjab Secretary General Hassan Murtaza.
Addressing the gathering, Chairman Bilawal said that the Punjab administration had given him a briefing on the floods. At present, Punjab is the most affected province and widespread destruction has taken place. He said that the Chief Minister of Punjab is doing good work. What is needed at this time is that the local government, the administration, the provincial government, and the federal government should all work together to deliver maximum relief to the flood victims.
He recalled that during the previous government, when Shehbaz Sharif was Prime Minister and he himself was a minister, floods had struck then as well, and the government had helped the flood victims through the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP). He said the rescue operation is ongoing, but unfortunately in Pakistan people often start criticism during natural disasters, something he himself has witnessed in the past. He added that he has instructed his party to fully assist the flood victims in every possible way. PPP will stand with the provincial government both during the relief and reconstruction phases, he emphasized, because no single government can cope with a calamity of this scale.
He announced that the PPP will request the Prime Minister once again, as in the past, deliver immediate assistance to affected families through BISP. Punjab’s farmers have suffered the most losses, he noted, stressing that agriculture is the backbone of the national economy. He urged that an agricultural emergency be declared in Punjab, and that the Prime Minister provide farmers with support in the supply of seeds and fertilizers. He also called for relief in electricity bills and loan installments for flood victims.
Bilawal said the rebuilding of homes would come in the third phase, and that assessments of the damage to houses, businesses, and infrastructure would be carried out. He appealed to the federal government to initiate reconstruction in Punjab just as 2 million homes are being built in Sindh, and noted that in Sindh too, the federal government is assisting in rebuilding houses and infrastructure.
He further said that floods have also caused destruction in Gilgit-Baltistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and there too, the provincial governments will need federal support. “We must support the people. All of us must unite to assist the governments of Gilgit-Baltistan, KP, and Punjab. We will not abandon them,” he vowed.
Bilawal reminded the audience that these floods came from rivers flowing out of India. He accused India of violating international law by refusing to honor the Indus Waters Treaty. “This time we witnessed that India forgot humanity and failed to provide timely flood data. We condemn this attitude of India. We are raising this issue at the international level and will compel India either to honor the Indus Waters Treaty or return our rivers to us. Under international law, India is obligated to respect the treaty. India is committing water terrorism, which we will never tolerate,” he declared.
Concluding his speech, Bilawal assured the people that their demands will be conveyed to both the provincial and federal governments, and that he himself will personally raise the matter with the Prime Minister.