ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and President Asif Ali Zardari met on Sunday to discuss the political climate and security challenges facing the country, and vowed to cement the coalition bond in the ‘national interest’.

PM Shehbaz met President Zardari at Governor House in Lahore, where both leaders also discussed the upcoming federal budget along with political situation in the country.

“Political allies need to move forward together in the national interest,” an official release quoted PM Shehbaz as saying.

He emphasised the need for unity among all coalition partners, including PML-N and PPP.

During the meeting, the leaders held wide-ranging discussions on national affairs, including the prevailing political and security situation in the country.

Army chief vows to crush enemy’s nefarious designs in Balochistan

The participants also reviewed the outcome of the prime minister’s recent visit to friendly nations and their significance for Pakistan’s foreign relations.

The meeting was also attended by National Assembly Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, Punjab Governor Sardar Saleem Haider Khan, and Senator Saleem Mandviwalla.

People-friendly budget

President Zardari, while highlighting the importance of public welfare, urged the government to take practical and impactful steps in the upcoming budget to provide relief to the common man.

“The government must take measures in the upcoming budget to provide relief to the common man,” he added.

A source in the PMO said the premier also apprised President Zardari about his visit to Quetta along with Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir and their meeting with a grand jirga of the elders of Balochistan’s different tribes and clans.

PM Shehbaz expressed the hope that the meeting with jirga will bear fruit and help restore peace in the province.

Earlier, Field Marshal Munir, in his address at the jirga, vowed to “crush” terrorists in Balochistan, stating that India’s involvement in terrorist activities in the province was “no longer hidden”, state-run Radio Pakistan reported on Sunday.

The grand jirga was organised in Quetta a day earlier to interact with tribal leadership and discuss the evolving security situation in Balochistan, with focus on terrorists receiving support from India.

Reaffirming that the enemy’s “nefarious designs will fail”, the field marshal said Pakistan has concrete evidence of India’s involvement with terrorist networks in Balochistan.

Published in Dawn, June 2nd, 2025