By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari has directed Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi to mediate between the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and its key ally, the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), amid a deepening rift that threatens the stability of the coalition government, local media reported on Tuesday.
Naqvi is scheduled to meet Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday to urge him to help ease the tensions. The feud intensified on Tuesday when PPP Vice President Senator Sherry Rehman issued a stark warning to the PML-N, emphasising the potential difficulties the coalition could face in the Senate without the PPP’s unequivocal backing.
The discord between the PPP and the PML-N’s Punjab leadership has simmered for days, fueled by disputes over flood compensation and water rights related to the Cholistan canals project. The PPP, which governs Sindh province, has been particularly angered by remarks from Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz, whose party also heads the federal government.
Speaking to a private news channel, Rehman said: “If you want to tear apart the whole coalition then I’ve already said in the National Assembly that don’t take our inclusion on the treasury benches for granted and don’t think that we will keep you stable no matter what you do.” “If you don’t need [us] then that’s your choice, but let me remind you we are the biggest party in the Senate and it will become very difficult for you without the PPP’s clear support.”
Rehman expressed frustration over what she described as unreasonable criticism directed at the PPP’s top leadership, including Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari and his sister. “Forgiveness and apology are one thing, but won’t my feelings and those of every supporter be hurt when you make the top leadership, our chairman and his sister, the targets of unreasonable criticism,” she said.
Rehman framed the conflict as one affecting the federation and its people, not merely a provincial squabble, noting that 6.5 million people were impacted by recent floods. She criticized the transformation of the PPP’s proposal to distribute aid through the Benazir Income Support Programme into a Sindh-Punjab divide. “How is it an issue of Sindh and Punjab? Are the rest of the people not Pakistani? We are a federal party and have voters in Punjab, so what do you mean?” she asked.
Rehman also defended Bhutto-Zardari against allegations about his tenure as foreign minister, pointing out that Prime Minister Sharif had publicly praised his work throughout. “The question then arises, who are you actually weakening?” she said.
When pressed on whether the PPP might shift to the opposition benches, Rehman said the decision would rest with the party’s central executive committee, as it was not a minor step and the PPP did not intend to destabilise the government. On the prospect of withdrawing from legislative processes, she said the PML-N should not “expect of us to come and manage your houses and promote your business.”
Earlier, PPP Senator Palwasha Mohammad Zai Khan addressed the media, directing a pointed message at Maryam Nawaz. “Remember that you will again need Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, you will again need Asif Ali Zardari, and that time is not far off.” Khan took aim at Nawaz’s approach to governance, saying that people’s hearts are not won by putting up posters or banners, or doing publicity on TikTok.
Khan affirmed that the PPP would persist in offering governance suggestions and raising questions as a coalition partner. “Punjab is for the whole of Pakistan, and Punjab has not been conquered. Do not try to become a martial-law dictator there.”
In response, during a ceremony in Lahore, Maryam Nawaz brushed aside the criticism and asserted her focus on her province. “If Maryam Nawaz Sharif does not speak about Punjab, then who else will speak for Punjab?” she said. The chief minister added a subtle jab at the PPP’s rule in Sindh. “I want other provinces to be as clean and developed as Punjab.”
The opposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) weighed in on the coalition’s troubles. PTI leader and former National Assembly speaker Asad Qaiser said he had suggested a no-confidence motion to the PPP “if they are serious.” “The Pakistan Peoples Party walked out of the National Assembly session to express their reservations,” Qaiser said, adding that it would become evident whether the PPP could follow through or if the tensions were just “friendly fire.” “If a no-confidence motion is brought, PTI will support it.”
From the PML-N side, Punjab Information and Culture Minister Azma Bokhari responded to the PPP’s statements, accusing them of inconsistency. “On one hand, they talk about a ceasefire, and on the other hand, they come out every hour for aerial firing,” she said.
Bokhari argued that such “dual signaling” undermined any serious effort at reconciliation and showed a lack of political maturity. She rebuffed lectures on democracy from the PPP. “They have never carried the burden of democracy on their fragile shoulders; this burden has been carried by our leadership and workers for years.” However, she cautioned that the PML-N does not want to turn political differences into a confrontation, but continued silence in the face of one-sided attacks is not possible.
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