The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) on Wednesday once again laid bare its long-standing grievances over governance and power-sharing issues in Punjab during a high-level meeting with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leadership.
According to sources, Punjab Governor Sardar Saleem Haider, at Bilawal Bhutto Zardari's behest, painted a grim picture of the province's affairs, expressing dissatisfaction with governance and law enforcement.
"The law-and-order situation in Punjab has not improved, and incidents of police excesses continue," the governor lamented.
He further lamented that despite a year passing, there was little acknowledgement of the PPP-PML-N coalition at the provincial level. "Several meetings of coordination committees have been held, but decisions remain unimplemented," he added.
The governor accused the PML-N of deliberately stalling the agreed-upon power-sharing formula, highlighting a lack of coordination at the governmental level in Punjab.
In response, PM Shehbaz instructed Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar, Rana Sanaullah and Khawaja Saad Rafique to resolve the matter. He reassured PPP leaders that coalition agreements would be honoured.
"If any issue remains unresolved in Punjab, you can contact me directly, and I will ensure all matters are settled," the prime minister assured.
To address PPP's grievances, PM Shehbaz directed that a coordination committee meeting be held at the Governor's House. The session is scheduled for Saturday, where PML-N and PPP leaders will discuss power-sharing implementation.
Sources revealed that PPP's demands include representation in provincial authorities, allocation of development funds, bureaucratic reshuffles in police and administration, and appointments of advocate and assistant advocate generals.
Governor Punjab Sardar Saleem Haider will host the meeting, with Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, Hasan Murtaza, Nadeem Afzal Chan and Qasim Gilani representing the PPP. Meanwhile, PML-N will be represented by Ishaq Dar, Rana Sanaullah, Marriyum Aurangzeb and Khawaja Saad Rafique.
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