Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif met PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari on Thursday and said the PML-N valued and respected its relationship with its coalition partner.
The parties are partners in the federation, although the PPP does not have a presence in the cabinet. Ties between the allies came under immense strain recently when they were locked in a war of words over flood relief, with Bilawal claiming that the Benazir Income Support Program was the “only method” to provide aid to flood-affected people in the country, while Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz accused her party of “politicizing” the issue.
Prominent figures such as the Prime Minister and President Asif Ali Zardari made concerted efforts to calm tensions, with the latter also asking Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi to play his part in a possible rapprochement. Chief Minister Shehbaz and Bilawal had a phone call last week in which they discussed “the prevailing political situation in the country”.
A statement issued by the PPP today said a high-level delegation led by Bilawal met Chief Minister Shehbaz, which was also attended by federal ministers and PML-N bigwigs.
He said the meeting involved discussions on the general situation and political landscape of the country.
“The PPP is our allied party and we view our relationship with it with respect and courage,” Prime Minister Shehbaz told the delegation, the statement quoted him as saying.
He added that the PPP delegation also paid tribute to the prime minister for Pakistan’s role in the Gaza peace agreement.
After last week’s high-level engagement between the PML-N and the PPP, an emerging thaw temporarily halted the political storm between the two parties, along with the Afghan conflict that seemingly overshadowed the issue over the weekend.
The phone call between Prime Minister Shehbaz and Bilawal raised hopes of reconciliation, although sources suggested the truce appeared to be temporary, more like a “pact of silence” than a complete ceasefire.
According to insiders, the tensions that ignited the dispute are still simmering beneath the surface.
Although the intensity of the growing divide between the two sides appeared to have eased significantly after these high-level engagements, sources said underlying disagreements remained.
