LAHORE – Just a day before embarking on a two-day official visit to Malaysia, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif held a crucial meeting with his elder brother and PML-N chief, Nawaz Sharif, on Saturday. The primary objective of the meeting was to address the “growing tensions” between their party and coalition partner, the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), with the Prime Minister requesting his brother’s personal intervention to de-escalate the acrimony.
The discussion, held at the family’s Jati Umra residence, focused heavily on governance stability, particularly the public feud with the PPP-led Sindh government over contentious flood relief and water rights issues related to the Cholistan canals.
A source privy to the meeting revealed that PM Shehbaz emphasized to the PML-N president that sustained government functionality required the bickering to end. The premier urged his brother to speak directly to Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz and convince her “to let go and reconcile with the PPP,” specifically asking her to “adopt a reconciliatory approach.”
“Nawaz Sharif was also briefed on the PPP’s grievances over administrative and development-related matters,” the source said, adding that both leaders acknowledged that internal unity within the coalition was essential to sustain the government’s stability. Publicly, however, the PML-N’s official statement only noted the Prime Minister’s briefing on foreign visits and the successful negotiations with protesters in Azad Jammu and Kashmir.
The Root of the Conflict
The public spat between the two major allies began over the issue of flood compensation and quickly expanded to include disagreements over water rights, specifically concerning the six Indus River canals.
The tensions escalated sharply after CM Maryam Nawaz rebuffed the PPP leadership, telling them to “keep its advice to itself.” In protest against her harsh rhetoric, PPP lawmakers boycotted sessions of both the National Assembly and the Senate and demanded a public apology from the Chief Minister.
However, CM Maryam has publicly declared she will never apologize for her outburst. The escalation reached a critical point when the PPP’s central information secretary, Nadeem Afzal Chan, echoed previous allegations by Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI), stating that Maryam Nawaz did not represent the people of Punjab and that her government was a “by product of Form 47.” He accused the Chief Minister of demonstrating “racist thinking to hide her failure to save the people from floodwaters.”
Prime Minister’s Foreign Trip
Despite the domestic political crisis, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is scheduled to depart for Malaysia on Sunday for a two-day official visit from October 5 to 7, following an invitation from his Malaysian counterpart, Anwar Ibrahim. The Foreign Office stated that the visit reflects the “strong and enduring strategic partnership” between the two nations.
Meanwhile, a PML-N statement noted that while Malaysian PM Ibrahim had also extended an invitation to Nawaz Sharif, the party chief would only consider the visit at a “more suitable time.”
