THE escalation in the ongoing spat between coalition allies, the PML-N and PPP, over Punjab’s controversial canal projects and flood relief is fast dragging the country back into the era of corrosive politics. It is reviving divisive interprovincial tensions that Pakistan, which is already grappling with resurging militancy, political instability and a faltering economy, can ill afford. Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz’s defence of the planned canals, aimed at shoring up her party’s strength in the province and aligning its interests with the powers that be, is a throwback to her father Nawaz Sharif’s brand of politics anchored in a parochialism that helped him dominate the provincial political landscape in the 1980s and beyond. Her rhetoric that if Punjab builds canals with its water, it was no one else’s concern, together with her threat to ‘confront’ Sindh’s leaders at their doorsteps if they opposed Punjab’s development, is a sign that the PML-N is reverting to its old narrative in order to recover lost political ground in the province.

Ms Nawaz’s strategy may deliver short-term political gains for her party but it will come at a huge cost to the fragile federation. The PML-N’s relations with the PPP are going downhill as witnessed in parliament on Tuesday. The country cannot afford to stir up interprovincial tensions, particularly on the sensitive and historically contested issue of water rights on the Indus. The fact that the federal government has already agreed to suspend the canal projects until a consensus is reached at the Council of Common Interests underscores just how volatile the issue is. To press ahead regardless — and to perceive Sindh’s concerns as meddling in Punjab’s development — risks aggravating the long-standing distrust between the provinces. Equally troubling is the manner in which flood relief in Punjab has become a political battleground. The PPP’s call to route aid to the flood-affected communities through the Benazir Income Support Programme — because of its reach and infrastructure — may not have been the most pragmatic option for ensuring timely relief, especially to completely cover the flood losses. Yet, dismissing the suggestion as political interference is hardly the response expected from someone who many in the PML-N view as a potential candidate to represent Pakistan’s diverse population as chief executive someday. She must realise that her strategy of stoking regressive middle-class nationalist passions can one day come back to haunt her.

Published in Dawn, October 2nd, 2025