PM Shahbaz Sharif Forms Committee to Resolve Issues Between PML-N and PPP
Islamabad:Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has established a high-level committee to address political and various other issues between Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) in order to foster cooperation and resolve outstanding concerns.
The committee will be composed of senior members of the government, including Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Senator Ishaq Dar, Defense Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif, Law Minister Azam Nazir Tarar, and Minister for Economic Affairs Ahsan Khan Cheema. Other members include Minister of State for States and Frontier Regions Engineer Amir Muqam, Prime Minister’s political advisor Rana Sanaullah, Speaker of the Punjab Assembly Malik Ahmad Khan, Senior Punjab Minister Maryam Aurangzeb, Khawaja Saad Rafique, Jaffer Khan Mandokhel, and Bashir Ahmad Mehmood.
Prime Minister Sharif has tasked the committee with conducting detailed consultations with the PPP to address political cooperation and resolve existing issues. The committee will work on the roadmap for negotiations with PPP’s nominated members to ensure smooth collaboration and problem-solving.
This move comes after PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari expressed concerns regarding the growing tensions between the two parties. He accused PML-N of violating agreements with PPP, saying that the federal government had not been fulfilling its commitments, and criticized the lack of proper consultation on legislation. Bhutto Zardari had also pointed out discrepancies in the government’s handling of the 26th amendment, alleging that the approval of canals by the government without prior consultation was problematic.
He emphasized that “politics is about respect,” and underscored that disagreements in politics are natural, but there should be better coordination, especially regarding the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP), which he claimed should be developed through proper consultation.
Further escalating the tension, Governor of Punjab, Sardar Saleem Haider, also remarked that the differences between PPP and PML-N have reached a high level. He added that PPP had suffered losses whenever it had allied with PML-N, and the party would decide its future course of action in the Central Executive Committee (CEC) meeting. Governor Haider suggested that PPP had reluctantly aligned with PML-N due to political necessity, but the two parties had no real understanding or long-term cooperation.
As tensions continue to rise, it remains to be seen how this newly formed committee will address the political rifts and guide both parties towards a more constructive partnership or if these differences will escalate further in the coming months.
