— Nawaz backs Maryam as Shehbaz plays peacemaker between coalition partners
— PTI downplays rift, urges PPP to move no trust motion against PM Shehbaz
— Punjab govt withdraws security from Yousaf Raza Gilani’s sons
ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari on Monday telephoned Interior Minister Syed Mohsin Naqvi to discuss the tense relations between the PPP and the PML-N, following a tirade exchanged by leaders of both parties, including Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz. He urged the interior minister to visit Karachi immediately to help resolve the matter.
However, the major opposition party—Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)—has downplayed the tensions between the two major coalition partners. Former Speaker of the National Assembly Asad Qaisar on Monday urged the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leadership to file a no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif if the differences between the two parties were indeed significant.
Sources in the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) claim that party President Nawaz Sharif has backed Maryam Nawaz in the ongoing dispute between the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and the Punjab government.
The sources say that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, in a meeting with the former prime minister, discussed the dispute and said that if Maryam Nawaz avoids harsh statements, the PPP will also observe a ceasefire.
Nawaz Sharif, however, the sources claimed, backed his daughter Maryam Nawaz and said that the “Punjab chief minister’s statements are a reaction to the People’s Party’s undue criticism.
“Maryam Nawaz has truly represented the people of Punjab,” Nawaz Sharif was quoted telling the prime minister.
The PML-N sources said that Nawaz Sharif decided to back Maryam after a scathing press conference by Sindh’s Information Minister Sharjeel Memon on Sunday and criticism of CM Punjab by PPP leaders led Nawaz Sharif to back his daughter. The row between two political allies has further heated up after it, the sources added.
Earlier, Punjab Information Minister Azma Bukhari made it clear that CM Maryam Nawaz won’t apologize to anyone for her statement. Reacting to the demand of PPP for apology, Punjab Information Minister Azma Bukhari said Maryam Nawaz would not apologize for her remarks during a recent public gathering.
She also referred to the issue of the Cholistan water canal, saying Punjab stepped back despite protests from Sindh. “PPP should focus on its own work and let PML-N do its job,” she asserted.
Bukhari strongly rejected calls for an apology from the Punjab CM. “Why should Maryam Nawaz apologize for working for the rights of Punjab. People praise Lahore’s development; they should turn Karachi into Europe too”.
PPP MNA Ali Qasim Gilani said that although the party did not engage in politics of division and hatred, still if someone would point fingers at the party leadership, he and others would respond.
Addressing a press conference in Lahore with PPP Central Punjab, Gilani said that the Punjab government had crossed the “red Line” on several occasions.
“We have not entered into an agreement with the provincial government that we will always heap praise on it,” he ssaid andadded that the situation had come to a pass that now it appeared as if the PPP was in the opposition.
He further said that he and other PPP MNAs and MPAs enjoyed the mandate of the people of the province. He also lamented that inappropriate language was used against the first lady of Pakistan. “The PPP is going to distribute the ration worth Rs2.50 million among the flood-hit people.”
Gilani lamented that on September 25, Punjab CM Maryam used inappropriate language against the Sindh government. “Can anybody tell me, was it the PPP or the PML-N whose leadership took the lead in the use of offensive language against each other?” he questioned.
Accepting Sindh Minister Sharjeel Inam Memon’s challenge for a debate, Punjab Information Minister Azma Bukhari said on Monday that had the Punjab government not been prepared, the loss from the floods in the province would have been colossal. Addressing a press conference in Lahore, she said that most of the people could not see the Punjab government performing.
She bemoaned the fact that some individuals resorted to politics whenever the province faced a challenging situation. “Those who cannot do anything merely talk.” Azma informed that cheques would be distributed among the flood-affected people from October 17.
On the occasion, she also announced an increase in the salaries of Civil Defence employees by Rs15,000. In reference to a press conference addressed by Sharjeel on Sunday, she said the detractors of Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz were so frightened by her performance that one of the ministers had to address a presser on a weekly day off.
“If one gets something to learn from sisters, do not feel shy about learning it,” she advised.
Punjab govt withdraws security from Yousaf Raza Gilani’s sons
The Punjab government on Monday reportedly wwithdrew security from the sons of former prime minister and PPP leader Yousaf Raza Gilani.
Sources privy to the development said security personnel assigned to Ali Haider Gilani and his brothers have been recalled, raising serious concerns among PPP leadership about the decision’s timing and implications.
Ali Haider Gilani, who survived a high-profile kidnapping in 2013 and has long been under security threat, expressed his dismay over the move.
“I have been a target of terrorism for many years, and my life remains at risk,” he said, calling the government’s action “an extremely irresponsible decision.” PPP leaders have also condemned the withdrawal, terming it a reckless step that disregards the family’s past security challenges.
