PPP mulls leaving coalition

Sources say party wants to cash in on anti-PML-N sentiment in Punjab

LAHORE/KARACHI:

The marriage of convenience that the coalition government at the Center represents is apparently coming to an end ahead of the general elections that are slated for October this year.

According to sources, the second largest party in the ruling coalition, the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), is “not happy” with the government policies and is apparently preparing to part ways.

They said the PPP wants to cash in on the anti-Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) sentiments in Punjab, the most populous province whose electoral conquest determines who will rule the country.

The sources said the PPP may announce leaving the coalition after the passage of the federal budget for 2023-24. In this regard, PPP Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari has started consulting with the party leaders.

Murad Ali Shah, the PPP appointed chief minister of Sindh province, said during a provincial assembly session on Wednesday that the federal government has increased allocations for the people affected by last year’s flood but PPP chief Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and the Sindh government are still not satisfied.

“The Centre must provide more funds for the flood affected areas of Sindh,” he said.

Addressing a rally in Swat on June 17, Bilawal—who serves as the foreign minister in Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s cabinet—accused his own government of totally ignoring the provinces that bore the brunt of last year’s devastating floods in the proposed budget.

“The budget for fiscal 2023-24 contains little of the PPP’s input,” he said, adding that “If Muslim League [PML-N] wants the PPP to vote for this budget then it must first allocate funds for flood reconstruction.”