Pakistan: PML-N and PPP begin talks to resolve unresolved issues
Pakistan: Following weeks of hostility, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) have decided to start a week-long discussion to work out outstanding problems and guarantee more seamless cooperation.
According to Dawn, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif took action to patch things up after PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari complained about the governing PML-N’s broken promises.
Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari has often complained that the PPP was left out of important policy-making processes and was unhappy with how the PML-N handled important issues. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif responded by assigning Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar the responsibility of speaking with the PPP leader personally about these issues.
Ishaq Dar met with Bhutto-Zardari, along with Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Faisal Karim Kundi, in an attempt to ease tensions, according to a PPP media release.
According to Dawn, the discussion proposal comes after Bhutto-Zardari met with Maulana Fazlur Rehman, the head of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F), who requested the government to enact the Societies Registration (Amendment) Act, 2024, pertaining to seminaries.
According to reports, the government is worried that if opposition groups like the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), which recently staged a rally in Islamabad that claimed many lives, join the JUI-F, the protests might pick up steam. Rana Sanaullah of the PML-N also met with Maulana Fazlur Rehman to discuss his concerns in an effort to mitigate the harm.
A PPP source said that the conversation process would start digitally in two days and then move into in-person sessions that will run for at least a week. This comes after the PPP chairman played a crucial part in last month’s passage of the 26th constitutional amendment, which changed the chief justice selection procedure. Bhutto-Zardari, however, has openly criticized the PML-N for not living up to its pledge to ensure that the PPP and PML-N are fairly represented on the judicial panel.
As the third-largest party in the National Assembly, the PPP has made a point of reminding the PML-N of its role in assisting the coalition administration. The PPP maintains numerous important constitutional positions, such as the Senate chairperson, the president, and the governorships of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, while not being formally a member of the government.
Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari met separately with important provincial leaders to address urgent concerns. He was informed by KP Governor Faisal Karim Kundi about a multi-party meeting in Peshawar that was attended by 16 political parties, despite the PTI’s boycott. According to Dawn, Bhutto-Zardari called the meeting a “historic initiative” and promised the governor his backing in resolving conflicts over KP’s resources and promoting regional peace.
Bhutto-Zardari also met with Sarfraz Bugti, the chief minister of Balochistan, to talk about issues facing the province, including public welfare initiatives, development objectives, and peace and order.
Bugti gave him an update on the Public Sector Development Program’s activities, including the Benazir Bhutto Scholarship Program and a new heart facility that Bhutto-Zardari is scheduled to open.
