By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari summoned Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi to Karachi on Monday for an urgent meeting amid escalating tensions between the governments of Sindh and Punjab, as lawmakers from the Pakistan Peoples Party staged walkouts from both houses of parliament in protest over a bitter exchange of barbs with their coalition partners in the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz.
The rift, which has strained the federal coalition between the PPP and PML-N, centers on disputes over flood compensation and water rights along the Indus River, particularly in the context of a now-shelved canal project in Cholistan.
The two parties have traded accusations for days, with PPP leaders accusing Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz of inflammatory rhetoric and PML-N officials charging the PPP with politicising natural disasters.
A post from the presidency on X detailed a telephone conversation between Zardari and Naqvi. “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 feud ignited over flood relief efforts but quickly expanded to water allocation issues after Nawaz advised PPP leaders to keep their counsel to themselves. In retaliation, PPP lawmakers boycotted parliamentary sessions last week. Senior party figures met with PML-N counterparts in Islamabad, urging Nawaz to “rethink her tone” on provincial water rights.
Nawaz, however, stood firm on Friday, declaring she would never apologise for her comments. PPP leaders countered that she did not truly represent Punjab’s people, dismissing her government as a “byproduct of Form 47,” a reference to disputed election documentation. The controversy also enveloped the Cholistan canals initiative, which was launched by Nawaz alongside Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir but later denied approval by the Council of Common Interests following widespread protests.
Over the weekend, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif conferred with his elder brother, PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif, on the “growing tensions” and appealed for his intervention to de-escalate the situation.
Sindh Senior Minister Sharjeel Inam Memon accused the Punjab government on Sunday of using the PPP as cover to “target” the federal administration. The verbal sparring persisted into Monday, with Punjab Information Minister Azma Bokhari asserting that her province had consistently acted as a “big brother” in times of crisis. Bokhari expressed the cabinet’s dismay over the handling of recent floods, saying the moment had been exploited “for the sake of politics and interests.” “The chief minister said she was saddened and, in her own words: ‘It is difficult for me to forget this. I didn’t expect that Punjab would be treated this way.’”
Bokhari lambasted Memon’s remarks as part of a “planted campaign” against Nawaz and challenged critics to account for their own aid efforts. “Ask all these people doing press conferences what they have done for flood affectees,” she said.
In a video message, PPP Senator and Senior Vice President Sherry Rehman denied that her party was manipulating flood aid for political gain. “If we are demanding relief for the people of Punjab and someone feels bad about it, that’s strange; Punjab is not anyone’s personal estate,” she said. Later in the Senate, Rehman elaborated on the PPP’s grievances, emphasizing the need for federal stability in the wake of flood devastation.
She described the interprovincial “war of words” as clearly impacting the coalition, noting that the PPP had worked to preserve unity during crises. But, she added, when “lines were crossed”, including invocations of the “Punjab card” and critiques of PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari’s tenure as foreign minister, such comments exceeded the limits of fair criticism.
Rehman stressed that the PPP had never navigated a coalition in this fashion before and suggested that an apology would enhance, not diminish, stature. “If our leadership is not apologised to, then the PPP is the biggest party in the Senate, count the numbers, we are by far the biggest party in this House and don’t take our support for granted in the coalition benches. We don’t want to break anything, but don’t take our support for granted. That is very clear,” she said, before leading PPP senators in a walkout.
Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar acknowledged the right to protest in a democracy, describing such fluctuations as routine. He recounted his efforts in the National Assembly to shield proceedings from the fallout and highlighted assurances from PML-N Senator Rana Sanaullah that Indus River water would be distributed solely under the Indus River System Authority pact.
Tarar praised Rehman’s “very sophisticated” articulation of concerns and noted that both Zardari and Nawaz Sharif favored reconciliation. He downplayed the discord to the opposition as an “ordinary change in temperatures.”
Copyright © 2021 Independent Pakistan | All rights reserved
