Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif shakes hands with PPP Chairperson Bilawal Bhutto Zardari during the budget session. PHOTO: PPI
LAHORE:
In a bid to ease tensions with the PPP, a PML-N delegation, led by Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar, met with provincial leaders of its coalition partner.
The meeting appeared to revive the coordination committee mechanism established to address the PPP’s concerns in the province. However, the talks ended without any significant breakthrough, with PPP leaders saying the party was not particularly interested in a stock-take of the PML-N’s promises to ensure it received its due share.
The latest round of meetings between the coordination committees of the PPP and PML-N was held at Governor House Lahore after a gap of nearly 18 months, with the previous meeting taking place in March 2025.
Accounts of how the meeting went, however, differed sharply. While the PML-N described the talks as positive and said relations between the two sides were on track, the PPP portrayed the meeting as anything but smooth.
PPP sources who attended the meeting said the PML-N’s decision to convene the session at this juncture appeared to be an attempt to create an impression that all was well between the coalition partners.
According to the sources, the PPP delegation made it clear that it was not interested in hearing about the implementation of the “due share” formula.
“They cannot simply wake up after nearly two years and knock on our doors to tell us that they have implemented another of our demands,” one source said.
“At this pace, they would need two decades to fulfil their promises,” the source added.
The PPP delegation instead apprised the PML-N team of the party leadership’s broader concerns and urged it to focus on addressing those issues rather than presenting incremental progress on previously agreed demands.
According to the PML-N account of the meeting, the two sides expressed satisfaction over the implementation of decisions agreed upon during their previous session and reaffirmed their commitment to continue working together in the national interest.
The meeting also reportedly agreed to improve coordination and communication between the two coalition partners and maintain regular consultations. Participants reviewed political coordination and mutual cooperation between the two parties, while also discussing the implementation of previous decisions and the future course of action.
The two sides agreed to strengthen political coordination and reaffirmed their resolve to address differences through mutual consultation. They also agreed to continue consultations on matters concerning the coalition government, according to the PML-N account.
A PPP source said Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar told the party’s leaders during the meeting that PPP-nominated representatives had been included in district development committees. However, PPP leaders responded that they were not interested in hearing about the piecemeal implementation of their agreements with the PML-N.
According to the source, the PPP delegation told the PML-N that its primary concerns included alleged rigging in Azad Jammu and Kashmir and issues raised by the party’s central leadership.
The meeting also witnessed some bitterness when the deputy prime minister accused PPP leaders in Punjab of targeting the PML-N leadership. PPP General Secretary Hasan Murtaza promptly responded that the PPP had largely been reacting to positions taken by the PML-N, triggering an unsavoury exchange between the two sides.
