The President Zardari Summons Mohsin Naqvi to Karachi as PPP-PML-N Rift Deepens after escalating tensions between the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) over the rehabilitation of flood victims. As political friction grows between the Sindh and Punjab governments, President Asif Ali Zardari held a telephonic conversation with Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi and called him to Karachi for an urgent meeting to defuse the situation.
According to an official post from the Presidency on X, “President Asif Ali Zardari spoke to Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi over the phone to discuss the recent tensions between the Sindh and Punjab governments. The President has called the Interior Minister to Karachi for an urgent meeting in this regard.” The move signals a direct intervention from the Presidency to prevent further deterioration in relations between the two key coalition partners.
The development came just a day after Sindh’s Senior Minister Sharjeel Inam Memon accused the Punjab government of indirectly targeting the Prime Minister by criticising Sindh’s flood relief efforts. He alleged that certain political forces wanted to create friction that would push the PPP to withdraw its support from the federal government.
Punjab Information Minister Azma Bokhari swiftly responded, questioning whether Sindh’s leadership was being misled into political conspiracies. She criticised PPP’s stance, saying, “Are you so naïve that you don’t see the Punjab government trying to push you into conspiring against the federal government? Did the Prime Minister tell you to play politics over flood victims in Punjab?”
The tensions trace back to PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari’s criticism of the federal government’s handling of flood relief. Speaking in Karachi on September 25, Bilawal said helping flood victims should not have been made an issue of ego. He urged the federal government to reconsider its approach and to channel relief through the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP), stressing that with international aid, Pakistan could have doubled its outreach to flood victims.
Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz responded firmly, saying she did not need anyone’s permission to serve the people of Punjab. She asserted that “BISP is not the only solution for everything, and the practice of begging must come to an end.” Maryam highlighted her government’s development achievements in Punjab, including metro and motorway projects, and said the province’s focus on progress should not be criticised.
The clash between the two major coalition partners intensified further when the PPP staged walkouts from both the Senate and National Assembly sessions, demanding a formal apology from PML-N leadership for remarks made against Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and Aseefa Bhutto Zardari. During a National Assembly session on September 30, PPP leader Naveed Qamar declared that his party might move to the opposition benches if the situation continued, saying, “We don’t want ministries or positions, but we deserve respect.”
The President Zardari Summons Mohsin Naqvi to Karachi as PPP-PML-N Rift Deepens marks a critical moment in coalition politics, as the government struggles to maintain unity amidst public criticism, regional rivalry, and internal mistrust.
