PML-N, PPP agree to continue talks on Punjab power-sharing

LAHORE: The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) have agreed to hold further rounds of negotiations on power-sharing in Punjab, with the next meeting scheduled for April 12. 

Key leaders from both parties met at Governor House Lahore on Saturday, where they decided to continue coordination committee meetings to resolve outstanding matters. 

The PPP delegation included Punjab Governor Sardar Saleem, Raja Pervez Ashraf, Nadeem Afzal Chan, Hassan Murtaza, and Ali Haider Gilani, while the PML-N team comprised Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar, Saad Rafique, Ahmed Yar Khan, Marriyum Aurangzeb, Rana Sanaullah, and Azam Nazeer Tarar. 

It was decided that both parties would take turns hosting the upcoming meetings, with the next session set for April 12. 

The two coalition partners have held multiple meetings to bridge their growing differences.

On March 10, PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto, leading a delegation, met Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who assured him of addressing the party’s concerns. 

The prime minister had invited Bilawal Bhutto for an iftar dinner. The delegation acoompanying Bilawal Bhutto comprised of Senate Chairman Yousaf Raza Gilani, Naveed Qamar, Raja Pervez Ashraf and other top PPP leaders.

The meeting held at the Prime Minister’s House discussed political matters and the ongoing negotiations over power-sharing in Punjab.

These meetings followed a ‘threat’ issued by PPP to withdraw support for the PML-N-led federal government, accusing it of not taking the party into confidence on key decisions.

In a statement on Jan 5, PPP leader and spokesperson Shazia Marri had said that the federal government was constantly and openly violating the constitution and that the party was not being taken into confidence on important decisions.

“The day the PPP withdraws its support, the government will collapse,” Shazia Marri said.

Reacting to the establishment of the Maritime and Seaport Authority, she said that the federal government did not take the PPP before establishing the port authority.

Prior to this statement, PPP had expressed concerns about the party’s representation in the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) and not getting equal opportunities for political activities in Punjab, on which two rounds of negotiations were held between the two parties last month.