KARACHI: Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said on Monday that Pakistan should not have skipped the US-hosted virtual summit on democracy.

Responding to a question from a reporter while addressing a press conference in Karachi, Bilawal Bhutto said that Pakistan was not in a position to “deprive” itself of any forum.

“Even if an ally raises objections, we can raise their views and our views [at the forum] but we should never cede space.” The PPP chairman said that in his opinion, this was a “mistake” at a foreign policy level.

Bilawal Bhutto also compared the healthcare provided by the Sindh government and the PTI government. “Compare the hospitals runs by the Sindh government with those run by the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation, ” he said during the presser that focused on the recent local government bill passed by the Sindh Assembly.

“Look at the state of these hospitals, ” he said, adding that the provincial government will now look after them. “We believe in 100pc free healthcare. Our hospitals are working on providing the poor with healthcare facilities that are at par with international standards.”

Bilawal Bhutto said PM Imran Khan, who earlier on Monday launched a health insurance programme to cover the entire province of Punjab, was trying to show off the health card, but it had a “limit”.

“The health card can’t cover a day’s expenses for the Covid-19 intensive care unit. [But] the Sindh government covers all of your expenses.”

The PPP chairman said that this was also the case with open-heart surgery. “We cover the day [of the procedure] and the expenses for the medication you have to buy for the rest of your life.”

He said that the PTI’s health card also didn’t cover post-operative care. “We cover the procedure itself as well as post-operative care at Sindh hospitals which offer free-of-cost liver and kidney transplants.”

Bilawal Bhutto said that the health card was an attempt to take money from government hospitals and hand it over to private facilities which was an “injustice”.

He also challenged the Centre, and the governments in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab to show one hospital that could compete with the National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases (NICVD) or the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre.

The PPP chairman also defended the local government bill recently passed by the Sindh Assembly, and said that while the opposition had the right to its own opinion, it did not have the right to “its own facts”.

He claimed that the PPP was the only party that was in favour of devolution of powers. He claimed that the Punjab government had passed a “one-sided” law in this regard, while the Centre was trying to hold local government elections in Islamabad through an ordinance.

“The devolution of financial, political and administrative powers has not happened before in the country’s history, ” he said, adding that it will improve the conditions of cities across the province.

He mentioned that the party is also making progress in Lahore, adding the people of Karachi and Lahore have pinned hopes on PPP. “Karachiites believe that PPP can resolve their issues, ” he said, lamenting that everybody has the right to criticise but one should not lie.

Sharing details of the developmental projects under PPP, Bilawal mentioned that the party has been allotting houses since 1970 to the masses, while PTI has “just started this initiative now.”

“PPP is the only party that understands the problem of the citizens, ” the chairman boasted, highlighting that his party has given more powers to local body representatives.

Shedding light on the tenure of Asif Ali Zardari as the president, Bilawal Bhutto mentioned that he gave all the powers to the Parliament.

“PTI is introducing systems of their own choice in Punjab; control of health and education system have been snatched from the representative of local government in Islamabad, ” he said.

He mentioned that under the new Act, property taxes will also go to local bodies. “If local bodies collect taxes there will be no budget problem, ” he maintained.

Bilawal Bhutto continued: “Moreover, police, health and education sectors will be accountable to the local body representatives.

The chairman mentioned that PPP is regaining its lost trust as “we believe in serving the people.”

Taking a jibe at the MQM, Bilawal Bhutto said that PPP had always raised “Pakistan Zindabad” slogans, unlike others who chanted anti-Pakistan slogans. “I’ve always seen you involved in terrorism ever since I was born, ” said the scion of Bhutto dynasty, adding that, “Those who’re calling our local bodies bill a black law will have their faces blackened”.

Bilawal Bhutto alleged that former Karachi mayors including Syed Mustafa Kamal and Wasim Akhtar had done nothing for the city but destroying its peace. “They [opposition parties] are losing their senses [over PPP’s local bodies law]. Now, no bat or any other slogan will work… it is time for the slogan of the arrow to rule.”

He added that those who have criticised the local bodies law can do so, but it isn’t right to lie about it. “This law is better than the one introduced by Gen (retd) Pervez Musharraf and the one introduced in year 2013, ” he said.

Bilawal Bhutto further said PPP has made all departments subordinates to the local government. He claimed that the provincial government had devolved more powers to LG as compared to Mustafa Kamal era.

Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said that the government must make no mistake while negotiating with the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). He went on to say that government must discuss the issue in parliament and should not take side of extremist and banned organizations. He warned that the country does not want to face the same circumstances as those of Afghanistan. No amendment in the constitution of the country should be made, he added. He said that the government must not forgive the terrorists.