ISLAMABAD: Amid widening rifts between the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), leaders of the two parties met on Wednesday and agreed to resolve issues through dialogue and mutual understanding.
The meeting took place in the chamber of National Assembly Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq and was attended by Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar, Senator Rana Sanaullah, Federal Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Tariq Fazal Chaudhry, Federal Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar, PPP leader Naveed Qamar and Ejaz Jakhrani.
According to sources, Naveed Qamar conveyed to Ishaq Dar that Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz should avoid making provocative statements.
He also told Rana Sanaullah that PPP leaders would be compelled to issue aggressive responses if harsh statements from PML-N continued.
The two sides, however, agreed that all differences should be addressed through dialogue and mutual accommodation.
The meeting followed several days of fiery exchanges and sharp criticism between the two parties.
PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and other party leaders had repeatedly urged the federal government to provide relief to flood victims through the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) and to seek international aid.
Rejecting these calls, Punjab Information Minister Azma Bukhari told reporters that the provincial government would not distribute relief through BISP, announcing instead a “Chief Minister’s Relief Card” to help flood victims so that they would not have to stand in long queues.
Later, Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz, speaking at a public gathering in Faisalabad, said she needed no one’s permission to serve the people and that not everything could be solved through BISP. She asserted that Punjab’s fight for its rights should not be a matter of concern for others, adding that “the era of begging must come to an end.”
She further said that objections were now even being raised on Punjab’s efforts to help flood victims, but the province would ensure that its people received their due share without needing approval from anyone.
Earlier, the PPP threatened to stop supporting the PML-N after Maryam Nawaz’s recent speeches against aid distribution and the BISP, and staged a walkout from the National Assembly.