Fence-sitting may cost PPP in Punjab

With its footprint in Punjab continuing to fade, the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) is turning to new local leadership and street mobilisation in a bid to reclaim political space even as its central leadership sends mixed signals about its alliance with the PML-N, a stance seen as confused and politically unconvincing.

Banking on freshly appointed office-bearers in Lahore, the party is preparing for a rally on Sunday aimed at re-energising workers and projecting street presence.

However, even as it gears up for the show, the party has sought to rhetorically distance itself from its partners in the ruling coalition, apparently attempting to capitalise on what it perceives as political space in the province.

PPP Central Punjab President Raja Pervez Ashraf has repeatedly maintained that the alliance with the PML-N was formed "in the interest of the state" rather than for political gains.

A day earlier, he had claimed that the PPP was edged out of Punjab's power politics through a conspiracy. However, Ashraf has simultaneously urged unity and cooperation within the ruling coalition, a stance critics call politically ambivalent and one that has so far failed to resonate with voters in the province.

Ashraf was speaking to reporters after a meeting organised in connection with the party's "Kashmir Banega Pakistan" march. According to party sources, the rally is also intended to push for the inclusion of Indian-occupied Kashmir on the agenda of an upcoming international peace forum.

However, organisational missteps laid bare internal strains within the party. The time announced by Lahore President Faisal Mir for workers to assemble at Nasir Bagh clashed with a separate media call at PPP leader Hasan Murtaza's residence, where former prime minister Yousaf Raza Gillani was expected to offer condolences over the death of Murtaza's father.

The scheduling conflict raised questions about coordination and hinted at rifts within the party, before the Lahore chapter intervened to resolve the overlap.

Party insiders say the march is effectively a test of the PPP's street strength in Punjab, where the party has struggled to retain political relevance. The newly installed local leadership hopes the mobilisation will help rebuild momentum and re-establish its connection with workers.

A senior party leader, requesting anonymity, admitted that without taking a clear political position, the PPP would find it difficult to make inroads in the province.

"Ambiguity may work inside assemblies, but it does not work in street politics," he said, adding that the leadership would have to give provincial leaders greater space if the party hoped to compete seriously in the next electoral cycle.

During the press conference, Ashraf also highlighted farmers' concerns, urging the Punjab government to address mounting agricultural losses. He said farmers were stranded and that delayed relief could affect future crops, expressing hope that the chief minister would intervene promptly.