The PPP on Thursday said that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and party chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari had a phone call in which they discussed the “country’s prevailing political situation” amid the row between their two parties.
The coalition allies have been trading barbs over how the PPP and PML-N have been providing aid to victims of the recent floods. The bad blood escalated to the point that leaders from both sides hold daily press conferences to take potshots at each other.
In a post on X, the PPP confirmed the telephone call had taken place and that the country’s political situation, foreign policy and flood aid were among the topics of discussion.
The war of words between the two sides expanded to water rights[1] on the Indus River as Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif told the PPP leadership to keep its advice to itself.
Last week, she said at a public address that she would not apologise for her remarks and censured the PPP for hurling “wrongful criticism” at the Punjab government over its handling of the floods.
In response, the PPP, the ruling party in Sindh, has had lawmakers walk out[2] of the National Assembly and Senate sittings to protest the diatribe.
Concerted efforts[3] have been made by leading figures, such as the PM and President Asif Ali Zardari[4], who have stepped in to defuse tensions, with the latter also calling on Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi to play his role for a possible rapprochement.
A PML-N delegation, comprising Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar and Speaker of the National Assembly Ayaz Sadiq, headed]5 to Nawabshah by special plane on Wednesday night, according to a statement from the Presidency.
While speculation has been rife over what actually sparked the bad blood between both parties, the events of Wednesday night clearly indicated that the disagreement had caused enough ‘trouble in paradise’ for the ruling party to dispatch its ‘A-Team’ in an attempt to win over President Zardari.
Naqvi — who was earlier summoned[5] to Karachi by the president to help — was also present in the meeting.
While there were no details given by either side about the emergent meeting with President Zardari, many observers believed that the decision to send a team to mend fences with the PPP leader must have been endorsed by Nawaz Sharif after his younger brother prevailed upon him to help bring down political temperatures.
Before the PML-N dispatched its top men to Nawabshah, ostensibly to negotiate a rapprochement, background discussions with PML-N and PPP leaders indicated that the tiff was quite serious, and “anything but scripted”.
The development came swiftly on the heels of an announcement[6] by the PPP that it would convene its Central Executive Committee — the party’s top decision-making forum — on October 18 to discuss the political situation in the country.
That the meeting was being called on the anniversary of the Karsaz bombing that targeted the late Benazir Bhutto’s homecoming parade in 2007 was being seen as quite significant, leading many to believe that the party may arrive to some momentous decision at the gathering.
Amid these tensions, the PPP is said to be receiving several proposals — from all quarters — about potentially reviewing it’s support for the PML-N in the Centre. Even in Punjab too, a proposal was floated that the PPP, with around a dozen seats in the Punjab Assembly, should sit on the opposition benches.
But as things stand, there seems to be little chance of the two allies disbanding their relationship, as those who have brokered this alliance will not allow it, insiders opined.
References
- ^ water rights (www.dawn.com)
- ^ walk out (www.dawn.com)
- ^ Concerted efforts (www.dawn.com)
- ^ President Asif Ali Zardari (www.dawn.com)
- ^ summoned (www.dawn.com)
- ^ announcement (www.dawn.com)