Overview

• After a government delegation met President Asif Ali Zardari in Nawabshah, both sides agreed to stop issuing provocative statements, according to the President’s Secretariat.
• Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif gathered senior PML-N leaders and directed that PPP concerns be addressed through dialogue, tasking Speaker Ayaz Sadiq and federal ministers to maintain contact.
• The rupture grew from a dispute over channeling flood aid through BISP versus a Punjab-run scheme, with remarks by Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz prompting a PPP walkout from the National Assembly.
• PPP’s Punjab chapter is pushing to sit on the opposition benches in the provincial assembly, a move party leaders say will be considered at the October 18 CEC meeting.
• PTI leader Asad Qaiser publicly offered PPP support for a no-confidence motion against the federal government, signaling potential parliamentary maneuvering if the rift resurfaces.