Ishaq Dar meets Zardari, Bilawal in high level meeting

ISLAMABAD: There has been a high-level contact between the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), ARY News reported.

According to reports, Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar met with PPP leadership, and the meeting also included President Asif Ali Zardari and Bilawal Bhutto, according to sources. The meeting took place at the President House.

Sources indicate that the discussions between the two parties are yet to reach a conclusion, with the Punjab power-sharing formula being a major point of contention.

PML-N has reportedly requested until the second week of January for further consultation on the matter.

While, the PPP leadership has demanded full implementation of the written agreement with the Deputy PM, sources say.

The ongoing negotiations between PML-N and PPP are focused on addressing PPP’s demands and concerns, including the key points of the Punjab power-sharing formula.

In response, Ishaq Dar assured PPP leadership that their concerns would be addressed, sources revealed.

Earlier, PPP instructed its central and provincial leaders to openly criticize the government’s policies in Punjab and at federal level.

According to party sources, the PPP leadership has provided guidelines to its leaders to expose the government’s flawed policies.

Sources revealed that the party has emphasized that silence on the government’s wrong policies would be tantamount to supporting them. PPP leaders had previously expressed their reservations about the government’s policies to the party leadership. The party has now decided to take a more aggressive stance against the government’s decisions.

PPP has made it clear that it will not tolerate the government’s wrong policies and will continue to speak out against them, sources revealed.

Earlier, PPP MNA Abdul Qadir Patel expressed concern over the internet speed in Pakistan and questioned the authorities about the type of firewall being used that is hindering internet access.