ISLAMABAD: Rana Sanaullah, the prime minister’s adviser on political affairs, said on Tuesday that the ongoing tension between the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) would subside once top leaders such as Asif Zardari, Shehbaz Sharif, or Nawaz Sharif held direct talks.
Speaking on Geo News programme “Aaj Shahzeb Khanzada Kay Saath”, PML-N leader Sanaullah said that the two parties often cooperate on several matters despite political differences. “We have worked together and also struggled jointly,” he said, adding that while PPP and PML-N are rival political forces, they are not enemies.
The war of words, which began over flood compensation through the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP), between PPP and PML-N further intensified after the Punjab CM said other parties used the flood devastation in the province for political mileage.
A day earlier, PPP leader Raja Pervaiz Ashraf walked out of the National Assembly session, saying that his party would not participate in the proceedings until they received a clarification over the Punjab ministers' remarks about Sindh.
Taking the division between the PPP and PML-N as an opportunity, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Asad Qaiser offered the former his party's support in moving a no-confidence motion in the lower house.
Meanwhile, President Asif Ali Zardari has tasked Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi to facilitate mediation between the political parties, sources told Geo News.
Naqvi will meet Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif tomorrow (Wednesday), where he will request that the premier play a role in calming tensions between the two parties, they added.
Speaking during today's programme, Rana noted that PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto’s recent press conference comments were objectionable, suggesting they implied the Punjab government was not performing adequately.
“His remarks displeased the Punjab chief minister,” Sanaullah said, adding that it was Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz’s responsibility to respond when the province’s governance was questioned.
He said CM Maryam was not only Punjab’s chief minister but also a party leader, and every worker defends their leadership. “If anyone can advise Bilawal, it is Asif Zardari, and if anyone can talk to Maryam, it would be Shehbaz or Nawaz Sharif,” he added.
On the same show, PPP leader Qamar Zaman Kaira said it was important to trace the root of the recent dispute between the two parties.
He recalled that the PPP had supported the government during the floods and that PPP Chairman Bilawal had praised the Punjab government’s performance during his visits to Kasur and Multan.
“Bilawal only suggested cash grants for farmers who lost everything, as done in the past through BISP,” Kaira explained. He emphasised that Bilawal had not advised anyone to seek external aid and that the PPP did not wish for the situation to escalate.
Kaira accused the PML-N of breaching several clauses of the agreement made during government formation and said Punjab’s leadership had shown rigidity on key issues.
“Our grievance is with the PML-N, not the federal government,” he stated, adding that CM Maryam’s tone was regrettable and that responding in kind would only worsen ties. He added that if the tone of conversation turned bitter, so would relations between the two allies.