President Zardari calls Mohsin Naqvi to Karachi amid Sindh-Punjab tensions

President Asif Ali Zardari has called Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi to Karachi to discuss about the rising tensions between the Sindh and Punjab governments, run by the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), respectively.

The PPP also supports the PML-N in the centre as its coalition partner.

A post from The President of Pakistan’s twitter account mentioned that Zardari and Naqvi held a telephonic conversation over the escalation of hostilities between Punjab and Sindh.

“Zardari spoke to Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi over the phone to discuss the recent tensions between the Sindh and Punjab governments. The President has called the Interior Minister to Karachi for an urgent meeting in this regard,” read the post.

It should be noted that after the recent floods in Punjab, a dispute sparked between the PPP and the PML-N over the distribution of aid to flood victims.

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The PPP insisted that aid should be distributed to flood victims through the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP), which the Punjab government opposed.

Leaders of both the parties have given conflicting statements over the issue further escalating the tension between the coalition partners.

Negotiations between the PPP and PML-N to end the war of words over mechanism of relief efforts for flood victims ended inconclusively as the PPP staged a walkout in protest during the Senate and National Assembly sessions on Monday, while the government tried to convince its coalition partner, Aaj News reported.

A meeting was held between leaders of both the parties in the Speaker National Assembly Sardar Ayaz Sadiq’s chamber.

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Details of this meeting have not been made public, however, Federal Minister Rana Sanaullah has confirmed that the PPP will continue its protest and walkout from the parliament.

Sanaullah said that the PPP did not demand an apology from the Punjab chief minister. He said that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif was scheduled to meet President Zardari and PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari today, but this meeting could not be possible due to the prime minister’s visit to Malaysia.

He added that PM Shehbaz will return home on Tuesday and discuss the concerns of the PPP, so that the matter could be resolved amicably.