President Zardari intervenes to ease PML-N-PPP tensions after verbal exchanges
Tensions between coalition partners Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) escalated sharply following heated exchanges over Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz’s public remarks.
Earlier, PPP lawmakers staged walkouts from both the National Assembly and the Senate, demanding a formal apology. PML-N ministers, however, rejected the demand and countered by criticizing the governance record of Sindh.
To defuse the growing friction between the Punjab and Sindh governments, President Asif Ali Zardari intervened, summoning Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi to Karachi for urgent consultations.
The president also held a telephonic conversation with the interior minister to discuss the situation and requested his immediate presence in Karachi.
The intervention comes amid an ongoing verbal spat between PPP and PML-N, the key ruling parties at the Centre, who have clashed over issues such as flood relief, water resources, and the performance of their respective provincial governments.
On Monday, PPP lawmakers again staged walkouts from both the Senate and the National Assembly, demanding an apology from the Punjab chief minister.
In the National Assembly, members of both PPP and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) conducted separate walkouts.
The PPP members boycotted proceedings to protest what they described as “regrettable remarks” made by the Punjab CM against their leadership.
Speaking on a point of order, former prime minister and senior PPP leader Raja Pervaiz Ashraf stated that his party would not participate in the House proceedings until the government provided a satisfactory explanation regarding the Punjab CM’s statements.
“Bilawal Bhutto never criticised any PML-N leader; rather, he appreciated the Punjab CM’s governance.
We are part of this government for the sake of Pakistan’s federation, not confrontation,” Raja said.
He added that PPP’s tolerance should not be mistaken for weakness, reminding the House that the party had faced much tougher times, including military dictatorships.
Ashraf also criticised the withdrawal of security for the PPP’s parliamentary leader in the Punjab Assembly and called it a violation of the spirit of the Charter of Democracy.
“We must not use divisive language or resort to blame games. Respect is more important for us than power,” he added.
Speaking on the floor of the House, PPP parliamentary leader Senator Sherry Rehman expressed concern over what she described as “divisive rhetoric” coming from Punjab towards Sindh and the PPP leadership at a time when the nation was reeling from devastating floods.
“Over 6.5 million Pakistanis have been affected by floods these are not Punjabis or Sindhis, they are Pakistanis.
Instead of focusing on their plight, divisive rhetoric is growing. This is no way to manage a crisis or a coalition,” she said.
Sherry Rehman said the ongoing “war of words” between Punjab and Sindh was hurting both the coalition and national unity.
She asserted that the PPP had shown restraint and solidarity but a red line was crossed when PML-N leaders “played the Punjab card” and criticised Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and Aseefa Bhutto Zardari.
She lamented that the Punjab government had even withdrawn the security of PPP’s parliamentary leader in the Punjab Assembly.
Defending Bilawal’s recent comments, she said he had merely suggested that the Punjab government use Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) data to identify and compensate flood victims.
Calling BISP one of the world’s most effective social protection mechanisms, she cited a World Bank report to support her point.
Sherry maintained that “an apology brings more respect” and that PPP did not believe in “politics of division or hatred”.
“If an apology is not offered, then don’t take our support for granted. The PPP remains the largest party in the Senate,” she warned before leading her party’s walkout.
Responding to her remarks, Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar struck a conciliatory tone, saying that President Asif Zardari had already taken cognisance of the situation and stepped in to play his constitutional role.
“Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Nawaz Sharif are both proponents of reconciliation.
The political temperature will come down soon,” Tarar said, adding humorously that the opposition should not celebrate these “ups and downs” in coalition politics.
Meanwhile, separately, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif has clapped back at PTI’s Asad Qaiser for suggesting that PPP move a no-confidence motion against the government, telling him to focus on fixing his own party first.
