By our correspondent
KARACHI: The Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) has firmly dismissed reports of a power-sharing arrangement with the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) over the formation of the Balochistan government, rejecting claims made by PML-N lawmakers and insisting it will complete a full five-year term in the province.
In a pointed statement, senior PPP leader Shazia Marri said there was “no agreement related to the formation of a PML-N government in Balochistan,” calling the rumours politically motivated and misleading. She criticized what she described as “closed-room decisions” on development schemes, arguing that such practices undermine transparency and alienate elected representatives. Marri added that the assembly’s business had recently been disrupted when PPP members did not attend proceedings, a reflection, she said, of growing unease within the party over procedural irregularities.
Marri also recalled the post-election negotiations that led to the formation of the coalition government at the federal level, saying Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had approached the PPP expressing his desire to lead the centre. Those talks, she noted, resulted in certain understandings, but none involving a rotational chief ministership in Balochistan.
During a recent PPP management committee meeting, members reportedly voiced frustration over the federal government’s performance and perceived neglect of agreed commitments. According to Marri, PPP co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari intervened, taking responsibility for ensuring that the party’s agreements at the national level would be honored. Her comments directly contradicted claims by PML-N provincial lawmakers that their central leadership had briefed them about a two-and-a-half-year power-sharing formula for Balochistan. The PPP’s categorical denial has now deepened the political rift between the two allies, exposing fault lines within the coalition that may complicate coordination between the federal and provincial tiers in the months ahead
