By Staff Reporter
KARACHI: A senior leader from Pakistan Peoples Party accused the Punjab provincial government on Sunday of using his party as a pretext to undermine the central administration led by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, escalating a public feud between two key allies in the federal coalition.
Sharjeel Inam Memon, a senior minister in Sindh province where the PPP holds power, leveled the allegations at a press conference in Karachi, intensifying a war of words that has simmered for days over flood compensation, water rights and the Cholistan canals project.
The PPP and Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz — which controls Punjab and heads the federal government — have traded pointed criticisms, with Memon claiming Punjab’s actions were aimed not just at the PPP but at destabilising the coalition.
On the surface, Memon said, Punjab appeared to be targeting the PPP, but “their actual target is the federal government.” “They are taking our cover to settle their own issues with the prime minister or the federal government,” he said. “Or they are trying to create an environment to [compel] us not to support the federal government, which would create problems for the federal government.”
Memon emphasised that the PPP’s support for the government was issue-specific and intended to maintain the country’s political stability. But he charged that Punjab’s maneuvers revealed an intent to drive a wedge between the allies. “But we will not let this conspiracy of the Punjab government against the federal government succeed,” he said.
The Sindh minister speculated on underlying motives, pointing to recent high-profile diplomatic engagements by Sharif and the army chief in Saudi Arabia and the United States. “I do not know why they have these jealousy factors,” Memon said. “A person thinks that ‘maybe this should have come in my share, why is it going to the prime minister.'”
He also highlighted what he described as a lack of protocol for Sharif during visits to Punjab, noting that chief ministers in Sindh and Balochistan typically receive the prime minister, while “his own Punjab administration neither receives him nor gives him any protocol.” “If you have any issues with the prime minister, please keep them among yourselves,” Memon added. “Do not bring the PPP into it.”
Shifting to the floods that have devastated parts of the country, Memon urged a focus on relief efforts rather than political sniping. He described dire conditions on the ground, particularly in southern Punjab, despite efforts to downplay the crisis in some media reports.”Even if you had blacked out the news from some places, but if you look on the ground […] especially in southern Punjab, the condition of the people is very bad,” he said.
He recalled that PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari had called on the federal government to seek international aid and distribute immediate relief through the Benazir Income Support Programme. Though the appeals were directed at the center, Memon said, it was Punjab that responded negatively, even as federal officials provided reassurances to the PPP.
In a swift rebuttal, Punjab Information Minister Azma Bokhari issued a statement accusing Bhutto-Zardari, who previously served as foreign minister, of undermining the government, including his own party and the prime minister. “The house where a father and son do not agree are now trying to hide their sins by making futile taunts against our house.”
She claimed the PPP was “conspiring” against both the federal and Punjab governments, resorting to the “province card” when its performance came under scrutiny.
Bokhari defended Punjab’s development, asserting that southern Punjab was “way better and developed than any area of rural Sindh.”
On water rights, a flashpoint in the dispute, Bokhari criticised the PPP for harping on the issue “day and night but telling us that Punjab will use water as per your (Sindh’s) wishes.”
In a separate post on X, Bokhari suggested Memon was meddling in Punjab’s affairs because the PPP had “decided not to do any work in Sindh.” “Saying things is easy,” she wrote. “Do work if there is. See your conditions; our south Punjab is better than them in every way. Is there any shame?”
The exchange spilled onto social media, with PPP accounts sharing complaints from flood victims in Punjab and PML-N counters featuring interviews praising the provincial government’s response.
Memon’s remarks also touched on a related controversy from last month involving YouTuber Rizwan Razi, whose televised comments were condemned as hate speech against the Sindhi community, sparking further tension between the coalition partners. A Senate committee had questioned Razi over the derogatory remarks, leading to his dismissal from Pakistan Television.
But Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz publicly supported the vlogger, with a social media campaign rallying behind him. Without naming Razi, Memon described the episode as a “staged” diversion from flood issues, calling it “extremely unfortunate, damaging, and I think it was handled in a very childish manner.”
He noted that even as the Senate proceedings continued, a “campaign strongly in his favour” emerged from Punjab government and ministerial social media accounts. Memon recalled Nawaz urging forgiveness after Razi’s apology, questioning the enforcement of laws against hate speech and electronic media violations. “If you are giving these examples, then release all the people that are sitting in your jails across Punjab.”
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