President Asif Ali Zardari has directed Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi to mediate between the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and its coalition partner, the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), following rising tensions between the two allies, sources told Geo News on Tuesday.
According to the sources, Naqvi is scheduled to meet Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday, where he will urge the premier to take steps to ease tensions and prevent the alliance from fracturing further.
The ongoing rift deepened earlier this week when PPP leader Raja Pervaiz Ashraf walked out of the National Assembly session, announcing that his party would boycott proceedings until clarification was issued over the Punjab ministers’ remarks about Sindh.
Sensing an opportunity, PTI leader Asad Qaiser extended an offer of support to the PPP to bring a no-confidence motion against the government. “If they are serious, they should bring a no-confidence motion, and we will support it,” he said, adding, “We will help them topple the government in the Centre.”
The political divide between the PML-N and PPP has intensified, particularly between ministers in Punjab and Sindh, who have exchanged sharp words over issues such as flood relief efforts, the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP), and the disputed canals project.
Meanwhile, PPP leader Palwasha Khan voiced her party’s growing frustration at a press conference in Islamabad, warning that the PPP’s cooperation should not be mistaken for submission. “Peoples Party is not your [PML-N’s] slave. Alliance does not mean slavery,” she stated, adding that her party had played a crucial role in enabling the PML-N to form the federal government.
She alleged that the Punjab government’s criticism of Sindh was a proxy attack on the federal government itself. “PPP does not want to get caught in your internal fights. The Punjab government cannot tolerate seeing Shehbaz Sharif in power,” she remarked.
Khan further said that the PPP would continue to highlight Punjab’s governance issues and insisted that PML-N did not represent the entire province. “Get used to being asked questions. Take criticism positively. We do not want to respond in the tone you are speaking,” she concluded.
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