Overview

• Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif phoned PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari to discuss politics, flood relief and foreign policy, according to a PPP statement.
• A PML-N team led by Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar met President Asif Ali Zardari at Zardari House, and both sides committed to stop public attacks to cool tensions.
• The rift stems from whether Punjab’s flood compensation should be routed through the federal Benazir Income Support Programme, which the PPP backs and the Punjab government rejects.
• PPP lawmakers staged walkouts in the Senate and National Assembly, hinted at shifts in coalition support, and sought an apology from Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz that she declined to give.
• PPP scheduled a Central Executive Committee meeting for October 18, and leaders from both parties directed their spokespeople to avoid confrontational statements.