After extending crucial support to the Federal Budget, the Pakistan Popular Party (PPP) is expected to formally join the federal government in July, with the distribution of ministries that are probably completed next month, sources told Express News.
The measure occurs after weeks of tension between the PPP and the ruler Paksitan Muslim League (PML-N) for budgetary assignments and controversial fiscal measures, which had caused strong criticisms of the PPP. The party had accused the government of neglecting Sindh and threatened to retain support for the budget unless its demands were addressed.
However, the dead point decreased when the Government agreed a series of key concessions, including a 20% increase in the Benazir Income Support Program (BISP) and the reversal of the powers proposed for the Federal Income Board (FBR) to arrest taxpayers without Warrants.
Read more: Bilawal explains why PPP supports the federal budget
Going on Thursday to the National Assembly, the president of the PPP, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, said that his party would support the federal budget after the government accepted its demands to increase the Bisp allocation to RS716 billion, exempt from income tax for salaried people who earn up to RS100,000 and reduce sales tax in solar panels.
The familiar sources with the negotiations say that the budget support of the PPP has raided the way for a broader agreement to share power with the PML-N, negotiated in part by the establishment. They added that the establishment had assured PPP leadership that there would be no changes in government and that political continuity was essential for national stability.
“The message was clear: the system must continue, and it will,” said a source close to the conversations.
Efforts are also being made to incorporate other political forces as part of a broader consensus construction initiative.
In the next phase, the PPP is expected to become part of the Punjab government, the sources said. The backchannel conversations between the two parties are already in progress, although a final agreement has not yet been reached.
