Tensions between the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) remain unresolved after another round of talks in the Speaker’s chamber on Monday ended without progress.

The two coalition partners met in an effort to defuse a bitter row between the Punjab and Sindh governments over the distribution of relief funds to flood victims.

Despite efforts by the federal government to mediate, the PPP announced it would continue its protest and walkouts from parliamentary sessions.

Federal Minister Rana Sanaullah confirmed after the meeting that the PPP had made no demand for an apology from the Punjab chief minister.

He said a meeting between Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and PPP leaders Asif Ali Zardari and Bilawal Bhutto Zardari had been scheduled for Monday but was postponed due to the premier’s trip to Malaysia.

Sanaullah added that the prime minister would take up the PPP’s concerns upon his return on Tuesday in a bid to resolve the issue amicably.

The dispute erupted following the recent floods in Punjab, after the PPP insisted that relief funds be distributed through the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) — a proposal opposed by the Punjab government.

The disagreement triggered an ongoing war of words between the two allies.

Zardari summons Naqvi

Amid rising tensions, President Asif Ali Zardari reportedly summoned Federal Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi to Karachi for consultations on easing frictions between the Sindh and Punjab administrations.

A post on X from the presidency said today that Zardari and Naqvi held a telephonic conversation today related to the ongoing row between the Sindh and Punjab governments.

“President Asif Ali Zardari spoke to Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi over the phone to discuss the recent tensions between the Sindh and Punjab governments. The president has called the interior minister to Karachi for an urgent meeting in this regard,” the post said.

The PPP has continued its protests in both houses of Parliament. During the Senate session on Wednesday, PPP senators tore up copies of the agenda and staged a walkout.

Speaking in the upper house, Senator Sherry Rehman sharply criticised the PML-N, saying, “Alliances cannot be sustained through humiliation, and there is no dishonor in an apology.”

She added that southern Punjab had suffered extensive agricultural losses and reminded her allies that “no province is anyone’s personal estate.”

“We do not wish to break anything, but we should not be taken lightly,” Rehman said, adding that Bilawal Bhutto had personally visited flood-hit areas and urged the use of BISP and international aid to assist victims.

She also accused the government of crossing a red line, saying the PPP leadership had been disrespected at a time when the federation needs stability. “We do not believe in the politics of hatred,” she added.

PTI slams both ruling parties

Meanwhile, PTI Senator Ali Zafar lashed out at both ruling parties, accusing them of insensitivity and incompetence.

“They are competing shamelessly for political trophies. I award them the trophy of lies, apathy, and failure,” he said, adding that flood victims had lost crops and livestock while the government “fights its own ally instead of helping the people.”

The renewed tensions follow a meeting held over the weekend at Jati Umra, Lahore, where PML-N leaders Nawaz Sharif, Shehbaz Sharif, and Maryam Nawaz agreed to a temporary “ceasefire” with the PPP and to resolve disputes through consultation.

However, Maryam Nawaz’s remarks, rejecting calls for her apology and insisting that her critics during the floods should apologise instead, reignited hostilities.

On October 1, both parties agreed to end their verbal confrontation, but by Monday, the follow-up meeting in the Speaker’s chamber once again ended without results.