PML-N, PPP spar amid political tensions

Some analysts believe recent exchange of harsh words won’t affect their relations

LAHORE:

The sparring between two allies reached new heights, with a second-tier PML-N leader belittling the PPP and a PPP leader reminding the ruling party that its leadership would have been languishing behind bars if the PPP had not provided its support.

This round of friendly fire began with PML-N leader Hanif Abbasi disregarding the factual position in the National Assembly and asserting during an interview that remaining their ally was a compulsion for the PPP, not for them.

He said both the federal budget and the Punjab Defamation Bill were prepared in consultation with the PPP, as the PPP was part of the finance committee.

He said the Punjab governor—who belongs to the PPP—went on holidays to avoid directly giving his seal of approval to the defamation bill, but this move was “not going to fool anyone.” Abbasi claimed that the PPP had approved the defamation bill.

He also contested the notion that the PPP was not a stakeholder at the federal level, stating that the party had received the Senate chairmanship, governorship in two provinces, the government in Sindh, and the position of the president as a result of a deal. “After taking all this, how can they say they are not part of the government?” he asked.

Responding to Hanif Abbasi, PPP General Secretary Hassan Murtaza reminded the PML-N that it was in power due to the support of his party. “If it were not for the PPP, you wouldn’t have been in the Prime Minister's House; rather, you would have been in Adiala jail,” he said.

He termed Abbasi’s statement comical. Interestingly, he also declared the PML-N’s success in the February 8 general elections a product of rigging. He said the former commissioner of Rawalpindi had already exposed the reality of elections “in this region.”

He urged Hanif Abbasi to stop fueling the politics of division and chaos, while recalling that the same leader had previously made reprehensible statements against PPP’s slain chairperson, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto.

He asked the PML-N leadership to rein in elements like Abbasi within their ranks. The PPP, he said, believes in parliamentary democracy and the politics of reconciliation.

Hassan Murtaza also warned that anyone who makes derogatory statements against the PPP leadership in the future will receive a befitting response. He asked the PML-N to take cognizance of such statements.

Some political analysts believe that this war of words between the two allies is not going to strain their relationship, as it is the fear of the PTI and its chairman Imran Khan that has brought the former rivals together.