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• Sharjeel questions Punjab’s intentions, claims PPP ‘being used as cover’ to target federal govt
• Azma accuses ‘ally’ of undermining national unity, trying to incite provincial discord
LAHORE: Despite efforts to temper political tensions between the ruling PML-N and its coalition partner, the PPP, leaders from both sides on Sunday continued to trade barbs over flood relief efforts, local government elections, and inter-provincial politics.
The confrontation, triggered by differences between both parties over flood relief efforts, snowballed after Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz accused the PPP of using the floods for political mileage, and revived talk about controversial canals that Sindh has vehemently opposed in the past.
The issue has been addressed by top leaders from both sides, who seem to be in agreement that the bickering should stop. NA Speaker Ayaz Sadiq has spearheaded one such meeting between key lawmakers from both parties, while PM Shehbaz Sharif recently met his elder brother, Nawaz, in an attempt to soothe frayed nerves in Punjab.
The latest salvo saw Sindh Senior Minister Sharjeel Inam Memon accusing the Punjab government of using his party as a cover to “target” the federal government.
Addressing a press conference in Karachi, he claimed that while the Punjab government was “indirectly targeting” the PPP, their “actual target is the federal government”.
“They are using us as a cover to settle their own issues with the prime minister or the federal government. Or they are trying to create an environment to [compel] us not to support the federal government, which would create problems for the federal government,” he claimed.
Clarifying that the PPP was supporting the federal government on specific issues and to keep the country’s “political system running”, he asserted that the circumstances that the Punjab government tried to create spoke of their intentions of creating a rift between the allies in the Centre.
“I do not know why they have these jealousy factors,” he quipped, highlighting Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and the army chief’s recent “successful” visits to Saudi Arabia and the United States. “A person thinks that ‘maybe this should have come in my share, why is it going to the prime minister’.”
The PPP leader further said that while the chief ministers of Sindh and Balochistan usually receive the premier whenever he visits the provinces, “his own Punjab administration neither receives him nor gives him any protocol”.
“If you have any issues with the prime minister, please keep them among yourselves. Do not bring the PPP into it,” Memon said.
Regardless, the Sindh minister said, the focus at the moment should be on providing relief to the flood-hit people. “Even if you had blacked out the news from some places, but if you look on the ground […] especially in southern Punjab, the condition of the people is very bad.”
Azma fires back
Responding to the Sindh cabinet minister’s remarks, outspoken Punjab Information Minister Azma Bukhari accused the PPP and Mr Memon of exploiting national disasters and using divisive rhetoric to mask their own failures.
She said the PPP’s attempts to politicise Punjab’s flood situation had failed, and that the party was now resorting to “petty, gossipy” attacks on the prime minister.
Ms Bukhari minced no words in accusing Mr Memon of undermining national unity and attempting to incite provincial discord. “You’re not being manipulated into conspiracy against the federation — you’re actively part of it,” she said.
“Whenever Punjab achieves progress, you start plotting. And when asked about your performance, you hide behind the ethnic and provincial cards.”
Calling out PPP leaders, including Bilawal and Aseefa Bhutto-Zardari, Ms Bukhari said they are openly undermining Punjab while benefiting from federal programmes such as the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP).
She criticised the PPP’s governance in Sindh, particularly in Karachi, saying: “Talk about Karachi’s uncollected garbage, crumbling roads, and corruption in solar panel projects, and you immediately resort to ethnic victimhood or threats. Don’t act innocent — you’re meddling in Punjab’s matters.”
She also rejected the notion that Punjab would accept water allocation dictated by Sindh: “‘My water, my choice’ is just like your ‘we’ll die before giving water’ slogans,” she said. “You cannot use water politics to control Punjab.”
The PML-N leader further alleged that PPP continues to “sell” the 2022 flood narrative for political mileage, despite not contributing a single penny for flood relief in Punjab. “This isn’t Sindh where years of work takes decades. In Punjab, we deliver in days what others take years to do,” she added.
She noted that Punjab has already started distributing cheques in surveyed flood-affected areas and that beneficiaries were publicly thanking Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz.
Published in Dawn, October 6th, 2025
Amjad Mahmood is a Lahore-based reporter for Dawn with over three and a half decades of experience. He covers agricultural issues, as well as Punjab’s politics and governance. He can be found on X at @Amjad012345.
