KARACHI: Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari has summoned a meeting of the party’s Central Executive Committee (CEC) on October 18 (Saturday), amid escalating tensions with coalition partner Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N).
The CEC, PPP’s top decision-making body, will deliberate on key political developments and party strategy, a statement from the party said on Wednesday.
The rift between the two ruling allies began over the distribution of flood compensation funds through the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) and further deepened after Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz accused other parties of exploiting the province’s flood devastation for political mileage.
Senior PPP leader and former National Assembly speaker Raja Pervaiz Ashraf had staged a walkout from the lower house on October 6, saying the party would boycott proceedings until Punjab ministers clarified their remarks about Sindh.
Amid this widening rift, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Asad Qaiser extended an offer of support to the PPP for tabling a no-confidence motion in the National Assembly.
Rana Sanaullah, the prime minister’s adviser on political affairs, had said that the ongoing tension would subside once top leaders such as Asif Zardari, Shehbaz Sharif, or Nawaz Sharif held direct talks.
Sanaullah also noted that PPP Chairman Bilawal’s recent press conferences were objectionable, suggesting they implied the Punjab government was not performing adequately.
“His remarks displeased the Punjab chief minister,” Sanaullah said, adding that it was Maryam’s responsibility to respond when the province’s governance was questioned.
Meanwhile, PPP’s Qamar Zaman Kaira had said that his party’s grievance was with the PML-N, not the federal government.
The PPP leader termed CM Maryam’s statements ‘regrettable’, saying that responding in kind would only worsen ties.
Kaira was of the view that if the tone of conversation turned bitter, so would relations between the two allies. –Agencies
