Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has strongly condemned the government’s decision to cut the higher education budget.

In a statement issued here on Sunday, he said the government is forcing the public sector universities to get loans to run their affairs. He said that 104 public sector universities in the country are facing the worst financial crunch of the history. He said the puppet government of the PTI is not ready to give these universities even 50 percent of their total budget of Rs158 billion. He said that public sector universities, including Peshawar University, are not even able to pay the staff their salaries and pensions. He said the federal government is completely ignoring research and higher education in the country. He said the puppet government destroyed the national economy right under the nose of its selectors. He said that hundreds of thousands of people have been pushed below the poverty line in the country. He said the country was going down into a quagmire socially, economically and politically. He said that public sector universities should be given all required funds immediately. He said he stands by teachers, students and staff of the public sector universities in these times of the worst financial crisis.