Dar-led diplomacy cools tempers after PML-N, PPP agree to truce after weeks of sniping

• Both sides pledge to consult before issuing public statements.
• Dar credited with mediating breakthrough to end political sparring.
• Bilawal calls CEC meeting on Oct 18 as allies move to cool tempers.

After weeks of inter-provincial political sniping, the ruling allies, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), agreed to cease trading barbs early on Thursday, officials said, following an urgent huddle between senior leaders of both parties.

The searing war of words, which began over flood compensation through the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP), between PPP and PML-N  intensified after the Punjab Chief Minister, Maryam Nawaz, said other parties used the flood devastation in the province for political mileage.

PPP has been calling for the provision of aid to flood victims via BISP — a proposition turned down by the Punjab government. Following her sharp retorts, the PPP leadership in both the Senate and the National Assembly staged walkouts, issued veiled threats of withdrawing from the coalition, and demanded that Maryam apologise for her remarks.

Ruling out an apology, Maryam responded that, as chief minister, she would defend Punjab and would not apologise for speaking up for her province, asserting that those who mocked the province during natural calamities should themselves seek forgiveness.

The thaw in the situation that was worsening by the day came after 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 negotiating team that discussed the recent flare-up between the two provincial governments and ways to calm the situation.

According to sources, President Asif Ali 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.

Sources credited DPM Dar with being instrumental in clearing the air between the parties. The understanding reached is intended to halt the cycle of tit-for-tat statements that have dominated political headlines in recent days, they added.

Meanwhile, PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has called a party Central Executive Committee meeting for October 18 at Bilawal House in Karachi to address the party’s next political steps and the recent tensions with PML-N, according to sources.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had earlier instructed party leaders to resolve the PPP’s concerns through dialogue. 

He stressed that working relations should not be damaged by political statements, according to officials.

For now, the message from the meeting is simple: both parties want to cool tempers and keep channels open. They have agreed to talk first, and spar publicly less, at least for the moment.

Zardari intervenes

To de-escalate the situation, President Zardari tasked Naqvi to facilitate mediation between the ruling PML-N and its ally, PPP.

Meanwhile, PPP leaders Palwasha Khan and Senator Waqar Mehdi continued their criticism of Maryam’s remarks, with Khan saying the PPP was “an ally, not a slave” of the PML-N, and Mehdi alleging that “it seems the niece is plotting against her uncle.”

On the other hand, PTI leader Asad Qaiser invited the PPP to join the opposition benches, saying his party would support a no-confidence move against the government “without any preconditions.”

PTI Secretary-General Salman Akram Raja also claimed that the "friendly tussle" between the PPP and the PML-N would end soon, though he ruled out any possibility of a coalition with the PPP.