By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: After weeks of escalating tensions between ruling coalition partners, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), senior leaders from both sides agreed early Thursday to halt their public exchanges of criticism.
The thaw followed an emergency meeting with President Asif Ali Zardari, amid speculation that the dispute could threaten the fragile alliance holding the federal government together. The disagreement, which erupted over how to distribute flood relief in Punjab, had prompted walkouts in parliament, veiled threats of coalition withdrawal and pointed barbs between key figures, including Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz and PPP leaders.
But in a sign that cooler heads were prevailing, a PML-N delegation including Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar, National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq and Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi travelled to Nawabshah late Wednesday to confer with Zardari, the PPP co-chairman and a veteran political broker.
A statement from the presidency confirmed the meeting but offered no details. Officials close to the discussions, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to discuss the talks publicly, said Zardari urged restraint and emphasised that neither side wanted the situation to worsen. The PML-N representatives agreed that future statements should be coordinated to avoid further escalation.
The intervention appeared to yield immediate results. Both parties committed to ending the cycle of tit-for-tat remarks that had dominated headlines. Dar was credited with playing a key role in de-escalating rhetoric.
The flare-up began when PPP leaders suggested using the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP), a federal welfare initiative named after the party’s late matriarch, to provide immediate aid to flood victims in Punjab. The proposal was rebuffed by the provincial government, leading to accusations that PML-N was politicising the disaster.
Maryam Nawaz, daughter of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif and a rising star in the party, fired back, saying other parties were exploiting the floods for political gain. “Those who mocked the province during natural calamities should themselves seek forgiveness,” Maryam said, ruling out any apology for her comments and vowing to defend Punjab as chief minister. PPP lawmakers responded with walkouts in the Senate and National Assembly, demanding contrition from Maryam.
One party leader, speaking on the condition of anonymity, described the PML-N as overly “touchy,” adding that even a “prudent suggestion” like leveraging BISP had been misinterpreted as an attack. Another PPP figure accused Maryam of deliberately reviving the contentious issue of six canals to irrigate Cholistan as a way to “tease” the party.
The PML-N, for its part, viewed the criticism of Maryam as crossing a line. “Maryam Nawaz is PML-N’s red line,” a party insider said. Even as the delegation met with Zardari, PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari — son of the late Benazir Bhutto and a central figure in the coalition — remained notably silent on the matter, though sources said he was monitoring developments closely.
The party announced it would convene its Central Executive Committee, its top decision-making body, on Oct. 18 in Karachi to discuss the political situation. The date coincides with the anniversary of the 2007 Karsaz bombing that targeted Benazir Bhutto’s homecoming parade, a timing seen by observers as symbolically charged and potentially signalling a major decision.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Maryam’s uncle and leader of the PML-N, had earlier directed party members to address PPP concerns through dialogue, officials said. He stressed that working relations should not be undermined by political statements.
Political analysts suggested the dispute, while genuine, carried broader implications for Pakistan’s fractured landscape. Ahmad Bilal Mehboob, chief of the Pakistan Institute of Legislative Development and Transparency (Pildat), noted that the two parties have long been rivals and could compete again in future elections. “This time, the pitch of criticism is higher, and even Bilawal and Maryam have gotten involved,” he said.
Mehboob attributed the tensions in part to Maryam’s energetic response to the floods, which may have sparked “a sense of competition, and to some extent, jealousy among leaders from Sindh.” He described the interprovincial rivalry as healthy but warned that harsh language “may leave lasting scars on interprovincial relations.” Still, he predicted a “ceasefire” with interventions from Zardari and Nawaz Sharif.
Despite the acrimony, insiders from both camps dismissed the idea of a full rupture, noting that the alliance’s brokers would not permit it. PPP lawmakers in Punjab, where the party holds about a dozen seats in the assembly, have floated sitting on the opposition benches to escape being “beholden to the whims and wishes of CM Maryam.” But for now, they appear content to frame the discord as “niece-uncle jealousy.”
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