ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari on Monday warned the members of parliament that the government’s unilateral policies were causing “grave strain” on the federation.
In a joint session of the parliament, Zardari issued a warning to lawmakers about government policies as tensions between coalition partners – Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) – fail to go away.
PPP has previously protested the government’s decision to construct canals in Punjab’s Cholistan area. It had also called for the immediate meeting of the Council of Common Interests, which has been pending for 11 months.
The Sindh government claims the new canals would reduce the province’s share of water and may turn the cultivable land barren.
Addressing the matter in today’s joint parliament session, President Zardari said: “It is … my constitutional duty as your president, my personal obligation as a patriotic Pakistani, to caution this house and the government, that some of your unilateral policies are causing grave strain on the federation.”
“In particular, the government’s unilateral decision to carve out more canals from the Indus River System, despite strong opposition from federating units.”
“A proposal that I as your president cannot support. I urge this government to abandon this current proposal and work together with all stakeholders to come up with viable, sustainable solutions based on unanimous consensus among the federating units,” he added.
Tensions between PPP and PML-N have been simmering for the last few months with PPP making reservations that the government does not consult with their lawmakers before important decisions.
A meeting in December between the top leaders from both sides, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and President Zardari, seemingly failed to put an end to the disagreements. Even after that meeting, PPP Senator Saleem Mandviwalla claimed that directives issued by the Presidency were not being heeded by the PM’s Office.
