PPP warns PML-N-led govt of collapse if it withdraws support

Shehbaz government is not taking PPP into confidence on important matters, says Marri

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Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leader Shazia Marri has warned that the party might end its support for the federal government due to a lack of trust in important decisions, stressing that if the party withdraws its support, the federal government will collapse.

In a statement, PPP leader Shazia Marri reacted strongly to the Maritime and Shipping Port Authority decision, saying the federal government is consistently making decisions without consulting PPP, including the establishment of the Pakistan Maritime and Shipping Port Authority.

She stated that both the Sindh government and PPP were kept in the dark about the establishment of the authority. She reiterated that as long as PPP continues to support the federal government, it will remain in power, but once that support ends, the government will cease to exist.

Marri further pointed out that the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) might not realize this, adding that the PPP had been demanding the convening of the National Interest Council meeting for a long time, yet it has not been called in eleven months.

The PPP spokesperson said that the ongoing violation of the constitution by the Prime Minister, who is legally bound to convene the Council of Common Interests every three months, is alarming.

Marri demanded that the matter of the establishment of the Maritime and Shipping Port Authority be brought to the Council of Common Interests, emphasizing that decisions on key national issues should not be made without consulting the allies and provinces. She further stated that the federal government's actions are incomprehensible and could lead to deeper divisions.

She urged that the country be governed according to constitutional and legal principles, with consultations with allies and provinces before making decisions on maritime issues and port authority recommendations.

Previously Sardar Saleem Haider Khan, Punjab's governor, said the alliance of the PML-N and the PPP has damaged the latter in the country's political powerhouse, Punjab. However, he predicts that now it is the PML-N's turn to bear the brunt of this alliance.

Khan, who belongs to the PPP, took the oath of office after a power sharing deal struck between the PPP and the ruling PML-N in the wake of the February 8 general elections.

According to the agreement, the PPP chose the constitutional positions of the president, governorship of two provinces—Punjab and K-P and Senate chairmanship in return for propping up the PML-N led coalition government in the Centre.

The PPP and the PML-N, arch rivals prior to the emergence of the PTI, had a long history of turf war in the country's most populous province which the PML-N had snatched from the PPP.

There is a general impression that the anti-PML-N voter in Punjab is disillusioned with the PPP after it came closer to the PML-N and later started voting for the PTI.