LAHORE: After months of back-andforth, the two major coalition partners, the PML-N and the PPP, on Sunday managed to make some progress on a series of contentious issues regarding power sharing in Punjab, with another meeting expected in a few days in which the ruling PML-N is likely to table solutions.

The senior leaders of both parties met in Lahore at Governor`s House to sort out differences on various contentious issues, particularly those concerning the local government elections and the farming community in Punjab. However, both sides agreed to meet again within the next few days to take the dialogue forward.

The huddle was the fifth sitting of the coordination committees of both parties, and participants included PM`s political adviser Rana Sanaullah, Punjab Assembly Speaker Malik Ahmed Khan, Punjab`s Senior Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb, and Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar, who joined the meeting through a video link. Punjab Governor Sardar Saleem Haider Khan, former prime minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, Nadeem Afzal Chan, Ali Haider Gilani, and Hassan Murtaza represented the PPP.

After the meeting, PPP leader Hassan Murtaza told media persons that despite all the reservations, they had decided to go together, keeping in view the existing conditions in the country. He said his party pressed for local government elections and underscored farmers` concerns.

`The PPP has strongly advocated for the immediate scheduling and conduct of local government elections in Punjab, he said, emphasising that this demand emerged from the party`s commitment to grassroots democracy and the empower-ment of local communities.

The PPP leader expressed reservations regarding the current local government bill, arguing that it lacked the fundamental democratic spirit, while the governance structure outlined in the bill was also questionable. `It contains the potential for political victimisation of individuals,` he said, calling for amendments to the bill to safeguard democratic principles and prevent political persecution.

The PPP also highlighted the plight of sugarcane farmers in the province, asserting that they had been denied their rightful share. Mr Murtaza urged the provincial government, led by Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz, to address this issue promptly and ensure fair compensation. He said both parties agreed to work collaboratively to resolve all the pertinentissues,including those related to the agricultural sector, through continued dialogue and negotiations.

He said the establishment of two universities one in Gujjar Khan and another in Pind Dadan Khan was also taken up during the meeting and the PML-N representatives promised the PPP side to meet again next week with some workable solutions regarding these issues.

Answering a question about whether the meeting also discussed the ongoing Sindh-Punjab controversy on new canals, PML-N leader Ahmed Khan said that the Indus River System Authority (Irsa) was the appropriate platform for resolving water-related disputes.

He asserted that a universally accepted formula for water distribution already existed, and that both Punjab and Sindh should adhere to this formula to utilise their respective share of water.

The Punjab Assembly speaker further said that water shortage was also being faced in various areas of Punjab, including Kasur, Chiniot and Sargodha, saying that climate change had caused almost 10 million acre feet of water shortage in the country`s river system.

The PML-N leader called for looking at the issue from a technical perspective on the basis of data instead of taking any political position. He also said that each federating unit had the right to vigorously guard their water share.