LAHORE, Jan 18: The Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N) says it will entertain only the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Punjab parliamentary party leader to settle issues concerning the coalition government and not anyone else.

“Our coalition with the PPP is parliamentary and not at the level of party organisations. Therefore, we will not accept the PPP leadership in any talks on issues of the coalition government,” Provincial Law Minister Rana Sanaullah Khan told Dawn here on Sunday.

“To us the PPP’s representative is (senior minister and PPP parliamentary leader in Punjab Assembly) Raja Riaz and not any other party official or any committee.”

Recently, federal ministers Raja Pervez Ashraf and Dr Babar Awan and Khalid Ghurkey comprising a committee were tasked by the PPP leadership with deciding power sharing in the province between the two coalition partners.

The committee, mandated to coordinate with Governor Salman Taseer and hold parleys with the Punjab government for implementation of the power-sharing formula, is due in Lahore this week.

So far Raja Riaz has been representing the party in the negotiations. But the PPP leadership has reportedly expressed reservations on his “soft” attitude towards the PML-N.

Mr Sana said if the PPP replaced Raja Riaz as the parliamentary leader, they would accept the replacement taking the latter on board on matters of the coalition government.

About the party’s strategy in case Nawaz Sharif and Shahbaz Sharif were disqualified, the law minister said any such decision would strengthen the party. Alleging that such a decision was impossible without a nod from the PPP, he said: “Though the PCO judges were appointed by Gen Musharraf, it is the PPP which is protecting these courts.”

He warned the federal government that any such decision would cause a grave political crisis in the country as the PML-N would take it as a “suicide attack”.

Punjab PPP president Rana Aftab also claims that the party has mandated him to re-organise the party as well as taking care of the coalition affairs, according to a TV report.