PPP, PML-N agree to hold monthly meetings, continue power-sharing talks

• "PML-N, PPP alliance aimed at addressing country's challenges."
• Malik Ahmed Khan stresses need to move beyond differences.
• PPP not seeking bureaucratic appointments in Punjab: governor.
  

LAHORE: The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) have agreed to hold further rounds of negotiations on power-sharing in Punjab, The News reported on Sunday.

The consensus between the coalition partners came during a meeting of their respective coordination committees — at the Punjab Governor House in Lahore — wherein it was decided to hold regular monthly meetings, with the next session scheduled for April 12.

The PML-N was headed by Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar and included Adviser to the PM Rana Sanaullah Khan, Federal Law Minister Senator Azam Nazeer Tarar, Senior Punjab Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb, and Speaker Punjab Assembly Malik Muhammad Ahmed Khan and others.

Whereas, former prime minister Raja Pervez, Punjab Governor Sardar Saleem Haider Khan, Nadeem Afzal Chan, Ali Haider Gilani and Syed Hassan Murtaza and others represented the PPP.

The development comes against the backdrop of the apparent friction between the key coalition partners with regard to their power-sharing agreement — reached after the 2024 polls.

The PPP has been raising its discontent over the behaviour of PML-N and its governments in the Centre and Punjab. The party has repeatedly said the PML-N, particularly the Maryam Nawaz government in Punjab, was not adhering to the agreement reached between the two sides.

The party has also time and again called out the incumbent government over breaking promises, avoiding consultations, and refusing to coordinate.

PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto, in January 2025, slammed the Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif-led government for "unilateral decisions".

Similar concerns were raised by President Asif Ali Zardari in his address to a joint parliament session earlier this week as he warned the government that some of its unilateral policies are causing "grave strain" on the federation.

The PPP and the PML-N, inter alia, have found themselves on different grounds on various issues ranging from matters pertaining to Punjab to the newly-conceived Cholistan Canal System which has become the latest point of discontent between them.

Speaking at a joint media briefing following separate meeting between Punjab Assembly Speaker Malik Ahmed Khan and Governor Haider, the former said the alliance between their parties was aimed at steering the country out of its current challenges.

He stressed the need for both parties to move beyond their differences and adopt a broader federal approach to politics, with the PPP expanding its presence in Punjab and the PML-N strengthening its footprint in Sindh, Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Meanwhile, the governor dismissed speculations about the PPP seeking bureaucratic appointments in Punjab, clarifying that the party’s focus remained on serving people.