ISLAMABAD: The PML-N and PPP delegations will meet today to begin negotiations on controversial issues that have caused a gap between the two parties in an effort to resolve disagreements between the ruling partners.
According to a source close to PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, “the two sides are meeting in person for the first time today (Monday), even though they have already made virtual contact on the matter.” The two parties have not revealed the meeting’s location.
The PPP has expressed dissatisfaction with the way the Punjab administration has treated it, in addition to grievances about not being included in decision-making. According to insiders, the PML-N government has been preventing the PPP from holding party events throughout the province.
The insider elaborated on the disagreements, saying, “First of all, the Punjab provincial government does not give permission to the PPP to hold its political events and if it does, it later raises objection to these events.”
Days prior to the two political parties’ meeting, PML-N mainstay and Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar met with the PPP chairman at the prime minister’s request to discuss the PPP’s issues.
It was agreed at the meeting that both parties would get together on a regular basis to work out their disagreements.
The PPP chairperson conducted a virtual discussion with his team members prior to today’s meeting, providing them with guidelines on how to present their case. According to the report, Mr. Bhutto-Zardari also spoke with the team about a few national issues. The PPP chief brought up his worries and misgivings about the federal government’s treatment of the PPP during the meeting.
Syed Hasan Murtaza, the Punjab PPP leader, requested a few days ago that the PML-N confer with his party on all significant provincial issues.
In Punjab, the PPP is just splitting the load with the PML-N. The weight will also have to be carried alone if decisions are made unilaterally. In a press conference following the PPP’s executive meeting in Lahore on Thursday, Mr. Murtaza stated, “We demand that the PPP be taken into confidence in Punjab’s governance matters.”
The PPP chairman voiced his frustration with the government for its lack of coordination only days after he was instrumental in the ratification of the much-discussed 26th constitutional amendment last month, which altered the chief justice appointment procedure.
He bemoaned the government’s failure to fulfill its pledges by guaranteeing the ruling PML-N and the PPP equal participation on the judicial committee. The PPP, which holds the third-largest number of votes in the National Assembly, backed the PML-N in forming its administration.
Despite not being a part of the government, the PPP has won numerous constitutional positions, such as governors of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the Senate chairman, and the president of Pakistan.
