Zardari intervenes to ease coalition tensions as PPP, PML-N trade barbs

President Asif Ali Zardari on Monday called Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi to Karachi for an urgent meeting amid escalating tensions between the Sindh and Punjab governments, as the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) staged a walkout from both the National Assembly and the Senate.

According to a statement issued by the Presidency, Zardari and Naqvi spoke over the phone to discuss the growing row between the two provincial administrations. “The president has called the interior minister to Karachi for an urgent meeting in this regard,” the statement said.

The PPP, which governs Sindh, and its coalition partner in the Centre, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), have been trading accusations over multiple issues — including flood compensation, water distribution, and the Cholistan canal project.

The dispute intensified after Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif told the PPP leadership to “keep its advice to itself” during an exchange over water rights on the Indus River. PPP leaders reacted strongly, with lawmakers boycotting parliamentary proceedings and demanding an apology from the Punjab government.

On Friday, Maryam Nawaz ruled out any apology, prompting the PPP to accuse her of representing a government “born out of Form 47”.

The controversy has also drawn in federal leadership. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif met his brother, party chief Nawaz Sharif, on Saturday to discuss the “growing tensions” between the allies, urging him to help defuse the situation.

In Sindh, Senior Minister Sharjeel Inam Memon alleged that the Punjab government was “using PPP as a cover” to target the federal government.

Meanwhile, Punjab Information Minister Azma Bokhari said the province had always acted as a “big brother” during national crises and accused the PPP of exploiting flood relief efforts for politics. “The chief minister said she was saddened and did not expect Punjab to be treated this way,” Bokhari added.

Responding in the Senate, PPP Senator Sherry Rehman said the party’s demands for relief were being misrepresented. “Punjab is not anyone’s personal estate,” she said, warning that continued hostility could destabilise the federal coalition.

Rehman cautioned the government against taking the PPP’s support “for granted”, noting her party remained the largest in the Upper House. She led the PPP senators in a walkout, followed by a similar protest in the National Assembly led by former speaker Raja Pervaiz Ashraf.