KARACHI: The PPP sent a clear message to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday that it could no longer provide his government with unqualified support by forming a high-level committee to “raise issues” with Islamabad in response to what it views as ongoing “disrespect” despite being a member of the ruling coalition and unfulfilled promises from the PML-N.
The PPP chairman established a team “to raise issues with the federal government,” according to a brief statement released by Bilawal House. The committee would present its findings at the upcoming Central Executive team meeting.
The members of the committee include Makhdoom Ahmed Mahmoud, Punjab Governor Sardar Saleem Hyder, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Faisal Karim Kundi, Haider Gilani, Sherry Rehman, Naveed Qamar, Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah, and Balochistan Chief Minister Mir Sarfaraz Bugti.
According to the statement, “the committee will submit its report to the CEC meeting to be held next month and will interact with the federal government to raise the issues.”
According to PPP sources, the committee’s makeup, which included a number of top party officials, represented the “sensitivity of the issues” within the party.
Less than a week had passed since PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari delivered a harsh indictment of his ruling comrade, lamenting the “disrespect” his party felt while being in the coalition and the unfulfilled commitments between the two parties.
In an unofficial interview with reporters at Bilawal House, the PPP chairman further charged that the PML-N had broken promises following the ratification of the 26th Constitutional Amendment. At the PPP’s next CEC meeting, he had also alluded to a potential reassessment of the party’s eight-month partnership with the PML-N-led government in the center. He promised to give party leaders the “facts and ground realities” so they could choose a course of action.
According to a senior PPP leader, “the individuals nominated to the committee have already been engaging with the federal government in various capacities.”
To expedite these efforts, the party’s top leadership has established a special committee to handle any outstanding matters with the federal government. The PPP will now voice its complaints on a single, cohesive platform, whether they be about the PML-N’s broken pledges, issues pertaining to south Punjab, or the Center’s allotted funding for Sindh.
A growing sense of urgency within the party ranks was mentioned as the reason why the PPP leadership came up with such a plan. This suggests that the PPP believes the PML-N administration has become complacent about its support.
“At the final stage, we were given the copy on the assembly floor to read and asked to vote in favor of it,” the PPP leader continued. “The [PPP] chairman has already pointed out how a draft of the crucial legislation was passed by the federal cabinet, then it went to print.”
After the PPP chairman questioned PM Shehbaz and his team’s earnestness about conversations on unmet obligations, the PPP leader said “yes” when asked if the government had reacted.
“To address the issues, Ishaq Dar Sahib [deputy prime minister and foreign minister] is already in contact with our senior parliamentarians,” the PPP leader stated.
Since a number of PPP committee members and government officials were abroad, there hasn’t been a formal meeting or sitting to discuss the outstanding issues yet, but we are constantly communicating our ideas and worries to them. Furthermore, we have made it very evident that such an attitude is no longer viable. We can no longer provide support in this way going forward, but what was supposed to happen has happened.
