LAHORE: The PML-N on Tuesday further upped the ante against the Pakistan People’s Party over the handling of recent flood and canal issues, accusing the latter of taking a leaf out of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s book for political gains.

As the PPP is protesting against, what it calls Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz’s ‘open threats’ to the party over the “very sensitive” canal issue, the PML-N seems to be in no mood for sparing its junior coalition partner for “politicising the flood relief efforts”.

“The PPP is exploiting Punjab’s floods for political gains. Has the PPP taken this advice from Narendra Modi? It is the PPP itself that is deliberately fueling ethnic and provincial politics through a planned campaign,” Punjab Information Minister Azma Bokhari said here on Tuesday.

She says that Punjab’s resources, treasury and water belong first to the people of the province, and then to anyone else.

PPP spox Shazia Marri alleges Punjab CM attempting to harm national harmony on canals issue

“If the PPP truly wants a dialogue, the assembly forum is available. If the PPP leaders cannot attend [the assembly], their representatives are still present there. But if they try to revive their dead politics on such a sensitive issue as Punjab’s floods, then the response will also come,” she made it clear.

Ms Bokhari says the PPP has been frustrated by Maryam Nawaz’s success and public service in Punjab, because even the people of Sindh now look towards her.

“Maryam Nawaz will continue to raise her voice for the rights of the people of Punjab,” she says.

CM Maryam recently said if Punjab wanted to construct (six) canals, why was the PPP bothered? Earlier, she had asked PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto not to advise her on distribution of compensation money among the flood victims. The PPP has asked the Punjab government to compensate over four million flood-affected people in the province through the data of the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP).

Punjab Senior Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb says if the PPP spokespersons choose to politicise wheat and the floods issues, they should also be prepared for a response.

“When they launch baseless criticism, they must also have the courage to hear the reply. The PPP has begun unnecessary political point-scoring on wheat and floods. However, no spokesperson of the PML-N has ever indulged in such point-scoring over the development of any province. There is a difference between offering the feedback, making observations and politicising the flood victims’ plight in the wake of the worst floods in the history [of Punjab],” she says.

She says Maryam Nawaz has the mandate to be the voice of the people of Punjab and to defend their rights. She recalled how Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari had praised Maryam Nawaz’s handling of the floods and her relief efforts for the victims.

“PPP spokespersons could not digest Bilawal’s praise for Maryam, and the very next day began baseless criticism. Unjustified criticism of one province by another is not in Pakistan’s interest, and the PPP must understand this,” the senior minister says.

PPP central spokesperson and lawmaker Ms Shazia Marri strongly condemned the Punjab CM’s statements on floods and canals issues.

“Maryam Nawaz is attempting to damage national harmony, and the prime minister must take notice of this matter,” she says, adding that the PPP always demonstrates patience and raises its voice for relief in the flood-affected areas.

“More than four million people have been affected [by the flood], yet the [Punjab] government is fueling divisions and hatred. The PPP supported the PML-N for the sake of democratic stability, but such statements are damaging the coalition,” she warns.

PPP Punjab leader Barrister Amir Hassan says: “The real grievance of CM Maryam is that the the PPP had supported Hamza Shehbaz as chief minister, and that Shehbaz Sharif became prime minister, while her father Nawaz Sharif was sidelined in politics.”

He says Punjab is not anyone’s personal estate.

“The PPP is firmly rooted in this very soil. Do not attempt to revive the slogan of ‘Jaag Punjabi Jaag,” he says, referring to the slogan of the Islami Jamhoori Ittehad (IJI) ahead of the 1988 elections.

Published in Dawn, October 1st, 2025