Hamid Mir says Maryam, Bilawal are competing for prime minister’s slot amid party tensions

As the rift between the coalition partners deepens, the causes behind the cracks seem far more complex than what the PPP and PML-N are publicly portraying. Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz has been strongly criticising former Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto’s party over his remarks regarding Punjab’s reluctance to seek international aid and the implementation of the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) in flood-affected areas of South Punjab.

The dispute began when Bilawal Bhutto urged the federal government to utilise BISP, calling it the most effective social welfare program and the only reliable channel for providing relief to flood-hit communities in remote regions.

Journalist Hamid Mir, during a recent talk show, revealed that both Maryam Nawaz and Bilawal Bhutto are eyeing the premiership. He remarked, “If they continue to fight and engage in verbal spats, both will eventually collapse politically and fail to achieve anything.”

He further claimed that Maryam Nawaz was dissatisfied with her uncle and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif for not appointing individuals of her choice to key government positions. Mir warned that the ultimate political loss would fall upon Shehbaz Sharif if the PPP–PML-N rift continued to destabilise the coalition government.

He emphasised that the issues between the two parties are more contentious and deep-rooted than they appear on the surface.

Bilawal Bhutto had earlier criticised the federal government, saying that people in South Punjab were being forced to suffer unnecessarily. He said, “The federal government, driven by its ego, decided not to utilise BISP.”

He had also suggested that the Punjab government should appeal for international assistance to better manage the crisis.

However, Bilawal’s remarks did not sit well with Maryam Nawaz, who launched a sharp counterattack against the PPP, dismissing BISP as an ineffective program that provided only a meagre amount of financial aid. She asserted that her government was prepared to offer more substantial relief to flood victims to adequately meet their needs.

Maryam Nawaz explicitly named Bilawal Bhutto while expressing her anger over his comments on the Punjab government’s handling of the floods.

She also accused the PPP of depriving Punjab of its rightful water share by opposing the canal project, saying the issue had been politicised even though she had offered to finance it.