Punjab and Centre

WHILE President Zardari has been frequently meeting the Sindh cabinet and has announced a number of projects for the province, on Friday he presided for the first time over the Punjab cabinet. He was given briefing on the ongoing development projects. Reportedly he was also apprised of the problems being faced by the province, which required help from the Centre. According to another report the President praised the performance of the administration led by Mian Shahbaz and agreed to provide Rs 32 billion for development projects. The interaction between the President and Punjab cabinet was a welcome step. Notwithstanding the fact that Mr Zardari is the Co-Chairman of the PPP, being the Head of the State he needs to be seen to be above party politics and equally accessible to all provincial administrations. 
It is not difficult to understand why it took Mr Zardari ten long months after being elected President to have a personal encounter with the Punjab government in which the PPP is a junior partner. Confrontation between the PPP and PML-N, which started soon after the latter quit the federal cabinet when the promise to restore the deposed judges was not honoured, assumed a particularly acrimonious form in Punjab. As the provincial Governor who represents the Centre jumped into the fray, the PML-N interpreted the letters he started writing to the CM as a part of the perceived move to destabilise the government. Things took an ugly turn when both sides indulged in personal attacks making many wonder if the claim by their leadership of never going back to the era of no-holds-bared struggles of the past was really more than skin deep. The imposition of Governor's rule led to further estrangement between the parties. Attempts to repair the relations after the restoration of the deposed judges were stalled by suspicions fuelled by Sindh law officers' support of the cases against Mian Nawaz Sharif. 

The Nation:Sunday,July19,2009