he coalition partners, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz and the Pakistan Peoples Party, have agreed yet again to try afresh to bridge their differences on power-sharing. During a meeting of their coordination committees in Lahore, both sides agreed to form a sub-committee that will meet on the first Saturday of every month. This might be a new bid to strengthen the current setup. However, history tells us that the foes-turned-friends will continue coexisting with differences that can never be resolved completely, for various political and personal reasons.

The March 16 meeting was held at the Governors’ House. Governor Sardar Saleem Haider Khan, former prime minister Raja Pervez Ashraf, Nadeem Afzal Chan, PPP Parliamentary Party Leader in the Punjab Assembly Ali Haider Gilani and Syed Hassan Murtaza held a two-hour consultation with Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar, Prime Minister’s Adviser Rana Sanaullah, Khawaja Saad Rafique, Federal Law Minister Azam NazeerTarar, Senior Punjab Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb and Provincial, Assembly Speaker Malik Ahmed Khan.

To address the PPP’s reservations about administrative issues in the Punjab, Chief Secretary Zahid Akhtar Zaman and Inspector General Dr Usman Anwar were summoned to the meeting.

The meeting decided not to release the details to the media. However, the Governor’s House issued a press release that said: “Both parties have agreed to work together and implement projects of public interest immediately.”

Talking to The News on Sunday, a PPP insider said: “The PML-N leadership is not following the protocol when it comes to President Asif Ali Zardari. The issue was raised in the meeting. Whenever he visits Lahore, Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz does not receive him. Nor does she make any effort to meet him.” He said that the PML-N leaders had assured the PPP committee that the issue would be addressed.

However, when President Zardari visited Lahore two days after the meeting, the CM was not there to receive him.

The PML-N reiterated its offer to the PPP to join the cabinet in the Punjab and at the Centre. The PPP leaders said that they would seek the party high command‘s guidance in this regard. The committee will meet again on April 12.

“The second major issue that came under discussion was the attitude of the police and administrative officers towards PPP leaders in the Punjab. We feel that the DCs and DPOs completely ignore the PPP parliamentarians and leaders’ requests for public service. There is an impression that they are doing so under instructions from high-ups.”

The third key issue was the distribution of development funds. The PPP came up with a unique demand. “The PPP pointed out that their MNAs and MPAs from the Punjab were not getting development funds. We demanded that our candidates who polled 20,000 or more votes should also be given funds at par with the PML-N legislators.”

The PPP committee also demanded a say in the transfers and postings in bureaucracy. The matter was handled diplomatically by the PML-N leaders.

For its part, the PML-N committee urged the PPP to stop criticising the PML-N leadership. They specifically mentioned the statements issued by Governor Haider against CM Maryam. They were of the view that such statements did no good to the coalition and can only widen the gap and strengthen the perception of a rift between the partners.

The PML-N reiterated its offer to the PPP to join the cabinet in the Punjab and at the Centre. The PPP leaders said that they would seek guidance in this regard from the party high command. The committee will meet again on April 12.

During the Election 2024 campaign, PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto had adopted an anti-Nawaz agenda. After the elections, the PPP supported the PML-N to form the government. In return it got several constitutional offices including that of president. Asif Zardari then became the only person in Pakistan’s history to be elected president for a second time.

The author is a senior journalist, teacher of journalism, writer and analyst. His X handle: @BukhariMubasher