Nawaz Sharif 'backs' Maryam in row with People's Party

LAHORE: President PML-N Nawaz Sharif has backed Maryam Nawaz in the ongoing row between the People’s Party and the Punjab government, sources said.

According to sources, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in a meeting with the former prime minister, talked about the dispute and said that if Maryam Nawaz avoids harsh statements, the People’s Party will also observe ceasefire.

Nawaz Sharif, however, backed daughter Maryam Nawaz and said that the “Punjab chief minister’s statements are a reaction to the People’s Party’s undue criticism. Maryam Nawaz has truly represented the people of Punjab,” Nawaz Sharif told the prime minister.

“A scathing press conference by Sindh’s Information Minister Sharjeel Memon on Sunday and criticism of CM Punjab was after Nawaz Sharif’s support to Maryam”, sources shared.

The row between two political allies has further heats up after it, sources added.

Earlier, Punjab Information Minister Azma Bukhari made it clear that CM Maryam Nawaz won’t apologize to anyone for her statement.

Read more: PML-N, PPP hold talks as tensions flare over Punjab CM Maryam remarks

Reacting to the demand of PPP for apology, Punjab Information Minister Azma Bukhari said Maryam Nawaz would not apologize for her remarks during a recent public gathering.

She also referred to the Cholistan water canal issue, saying Punjab stepped back despite protests from Sindh. “PPP should focus on its own work and let PML-N do its job,” she asserted.

Bukhari strongly rejected calls for an apology from the Punjab CM. “Why should Maryam Nawaz apologize for working for the rights of Punjabis? People praise Lahore’s development, they should turn Karachi into Europe too.

In Sindh, people wish they had a CM like Maryam Nawaz,” she said.