Bilawal Withdraws Decision to Boycott Budget Session After Meeting in Islamabad

Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, Chairman of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), has decided to attend the National Assembly’s budget session after talks with Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi. The session commenced Friday under Speaker Ayaz Sadiq’s chairmanship as Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb presented the federal budget.

Earlier, PPP had announced it would not boycott the session but indicated that Bilawal and other senior leaders would stay away, citing attempts to steal the party’s mandate in Gilgit-Baltistan. The party stated some of its lawmakers would participate for national interest.

A day prior, high-level delegations from PPP and PML-N met in Gilgit discussing potential government formation formulas, political cooperation, and other matters. The PPP delegation reiterated that people of Gilgit-Baltistan had given the party a clear mandate by making it the largest party in the region, with all decisions on government formation to be taken in line with democratic principles and public interest.