Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has convened a meeting of senior Pakistan Muslim League (N) leaders to discuss the escalating political tensions between Sindh and Punjab. According to official sources, the meeting will focus on recent disputes between the two provincial governments and the growing strain in their political relationship.
The Prime Minister is expected to be briefed on the recent walkout staged by the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) during the National Assembly session. Senior party leaders will inform him about the background of the incident and the concerns raised by the PPP to find a way forward through political dialogue.
During the meeting, the PML-N leadership will review PPP’s reservations and devise a strategy to restore working relations between the two coalition partners. The Prime Minister is also likely to direct his ministers to engage with Sindh’s leadership in the coming days to ease tensions.
A day earlier, President Asif Ali Zardari held a meeting with Federal Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, where the ongoing friction between the two provinces was discussed. The president urged the minister to play an active role in bridging misunderstandings and promoting political harmony.
The dispute reportedly began over the mechanism for distributing aid to flood-affected families. Sindh’s government demanded that financial assistance be channeled through the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP), while Punjab’s government rejected the proposal, opting instead to use its own provincial system.
Since then, ministers from both provinces have exchanged sharp statements in press conferences, while the federal government has intervened to prevent the issue from escalating further and promote interprovincial cooperation.
