After trading barbs for weeks, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) have agreed to a “ceasefire” following an emergency meeting between senior leaders from both sides.
The breakthrough came as PML-N scrambled a delegation, led by Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar, to Zardari House in Nawabshah. National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq and Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi were also a part of the meeting that came two days after President Asif Ali Zardari intervened to ease the growing rift between the Sindh and Punjab governments.
During the meeting, reports said, President Zardari urged the government delegation to advise their party members to exercise restraint, saying they did not want matters to worsen. The PML-N team made the same request, agreeing that both sides should listen to each other before making any public statements.
Reports said Dar was instrumental in clearing the air between the parties and understanding reached was intended to halt the cycle of tit-for-tat statements that started over flood compensation through the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP), going on to dominate political headlines for weeks.
The PPP had been calling for the provision of aid to flood victims via BISP — a proposition turned down by the Punjab government. The situation intensified after Punjab Chief Minister (CM) Maryam Nawaz said other parties were using flood devastation in the province for political mileage.
Her sharp retorts prompted the PPP leadership in both the Senate and the National Assembly to stage walkouts and issue veiled threats of withdrawing from the coalition. They also demanded that CM Maryam apologised for her remarks, which was ruled out by the Punjab chief executive.
She maintained that as the CM, she would defend Punjab and would not apologise for speaking up for her province. CM Maryam also asserted that those who mocked the province during natural calamities should themselves seek forgiveness.
PML-N ministers also retaliated by raising questions on Sindh’s governance record under the PPP.
Amid the war of words, the president had earlier this week held a telephonic conversation with Naqvi to discuss the ongoing tensions and the fate of the ruling coalition.