Bilawal likens establishment of Pakistan island authority to Modi’s annexation of Kashmir

KARACHI: PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari on Monday lashed out at the PTI government over establishment of Pakistan Islands Development Authority (PIDA) through an ordinance to develop the islands and likened the move to Narendra Modi’s annexation of Kashmir.

The government of Prime Minister Imran Khan on August 31 promulgated an ordinance to establish the authority to develop and manage the islands in the internal and territorial waters of Pakistan.

According to a The News report, the authority is being created to “initiate and maintain a continuous process of reclamation and urban planning and identify immovable properties and projects suitable for the development of schemes within the internal and territorial waters of Pakistan.”

The Bundal and Buddo islands, on the Arabian Sea and off the coast of Karachi, will be the initial focus of the authority, the publication said.

Reacting strongly to the development, the PPP chairman said his party will oppose the “illegal annexation” of Sindh’s Islands through the presidential ordinance by the PTI government.

“I ask how is this act any different to Modi’s actions in occupied Kashmir?”

Bilawal said that the move will be opposed in the National Assembly, provincial assembly and the Senate.

As news of the Ordinance began to spread, there was outrage among certain sections in Sindh, The News report said.

A seminar addressed by representatives of political parties, including the ruling PPP, and civil society groups on Saturday strongly criticized the move as impinging on provincial autonomy.

Many prominent lawyers in Sindh have also dubbed the move unconstitutional and vowed to challenge it.

Environmentalists came out strongly on social media alleging that developing the islands would add to environmental degradation and damage fisheries and the mangroves.