Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz has said she is not only cleansing Punjab of crime and filth but also “purifying the minds of those who envy the province’s progress,” continuing her escalating war of words with Sindh.
“Some people get upset when I speak about Punjab — but tell me, which province am I the chief minister of? If I don’t speak for Punjab, then who should?” she said while addressing an event on Tuesday.
Suthra Punjab is not just the world’s largest waste management program, it is the realisation of my long-cherished dream.
With over 35000 pieces of state-of-the-art machinery and modern equipment, from de-silting machines, winching units, to sucker pumps, we have raised a silent… pic.twitter.com/e02XSW56my
— Maryam Nawaz Sharif (@MaryamNSharif) October 7, 2025
The dispute between the PPP and PML-N—which began over flood compensation distribution through the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP)—has deepened after the Punjab CM accused other parties of exploiting flood devastation in Punjab for political gain.
The PPP has been advocating for BISP to distribute flood relief, a proposal rejected by the Punjab government.
Maryam said she wished to see Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan, and Sindh “as clean and developed as Punjab,” adding that all provinces had received ample funds. “So if your roads are broken, if you must travel in rickety buses, or if wheat is expensive, then ask your own governments why that is,” she remarked.
Read more: Trump unlikely to win Nobel Peace Prize, but who will?
She stressed that progress and prosperity were the right of every citizen, not “something they should have to beg for.” Maryam added that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had praised her work, to which she replied, “I’ve learnt all this from Nawaz Sharif and Shehbaz Sharif.”
Punjab Information Minister Azma Bokhari also dismissed demands for CM Maryam to apologise to the PPP, saying, “What should the chief minister apologise for? If anyone owes an apology, it’s the Sindh government. They started this row; it’s up to them to end it.” She further accused the PPP of undermining the federation and advised PTI to “set its own house in order.
Federal Mediation as Political Tensions Rise
The federal government has stepped in to ease tensions between Sindh and Punjab. According to sources cited by Geo News, President Asif Ali Zardari has tasked Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi to mediate between the ruling PML-N and its ally, the PPP.
Naqvi is expected to meet Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday to urge him to play a role in defusing the situation.
Meanwhile, PPP leaders Palwasha Khan and Senator Waqar Mehdi continued to criticise Maryam’s statements, with Khan asserting that the PPP was “an ally, not a slave” of the PML-N, and Mehdi alleging that “it seems the niece is plotting against her uncle.”
Read more: How gold topped $4,000 for first time
On the opposition front, PTI leader Asad Qaiser invited the PPP to join the opposition benches, offering support for a no-confidence motion against the government “without any preconditions.” PTI Secretary-General Salman Akram Raja, however, dismissed the likelihood of a coalition with the PPP, calling the dispute between the PPP and PML-N merely a “friendly tussle” that would soon fade.