• President Zardari, Mohsin Naqvi to discuss PML-N-PPP friction.
• PPP members boycott NA, Senate sessions over Maryam’s remarks.
• Party laments divisive rhetoric coming from Punjab towards Sindh.

KARACHI/ISLAMABAD: The tensions between coalition partners Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) escalated sharply after heated exchanges over Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz’s public remarks, The News reported on Tuesday.

The PPP lawmakers, a day earlier, staged walkouts from both the National Assembly and the Senate and demanded a formal apology, while PML-N ministers rejected the demand and counterattacked Sindh’s governance record.

However, President Asif Ali Zardari stepped in to defuse the growing tensions between the Sindh and Punjab governments who summoned Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi to Karachi for urgent consultations.

The president held a telephonic conversation with the interior minister to discuss the ongoing friction between the provincial government of Punjab and Sindh and summoned him to Karachi immediately.

The president’s intervention comes against the backdrop of the ongoing verbal spat between the PPP and PML-N — the key ruling parties at the Centre — who have been at odds over flood relief, water resources, and the performance of their respective provincial governments in Sindh and Punjab.

On Monday, the PPP lawmakers staged walkouts from the Senate and National Assembly, demanding an apology from the Punjab chief minister. In National Assembly, the PPP and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) lawmakers separately staged walkouts.

The PPP members boycotted the House proceedings in protest against what they termed “regrettable remarks” made by Punjab CM against their leadership.

Speaking on a point of order, former prime minister and senior PPP leader Raja Pervaiz Ashraf said his party would not participate in the proceedings until the government provided a satisfactory explanation regarding the Punjab CM’s statements.

“Bilawal Bhutto never criticised any PML-N leader; rather, he appreciated the Punjab CM’s governance. We are part of this government for the sake of Pakistan’s federation, not confrontation,” Raja said.

He added that PPP’s tolerance should not be mistaken for weakness, reminding the House that the party had faced much tougher times, including military dictatorships.

Ashraf also criticised the withdrawal of security for the PPP’s parliamentary leader in the Punjab Assembly and called it a violation of the spirit of the Charter of Democracy.

“We must not use divisive language or resort to blame games. Respect is more important for us than power,” he added.

Speaking on the floor of the House, PPP parliamentary leader Senator Sherry Rehman expressed concern over what she described as “divisive rhetoric” coming from Punjab towards Sindh and the PPP leadership at a time when the nation was reeling from devastating floods.

“Over 6.5 million Pakistanis have been affected by floods — these are not Punjabis or Sindhis, they are Pakistanis. Instead of focusing on their plight, divisive rhetoric is growing. This is no way to manage a crisis or a coalition,” she said.

Sherry Rehman said the ongoing “war of words” between Punjab and Sindh was hurting both the coalition and national unity. She asserted that the PPP had shown restraint and solidarity but a red line was crossed when PML-N leaders “played the Punjab card” and criticised Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and Aseefa Bhutto Zardari.

She lamented that the Punjab government had even withdrawn the security of PPP’s parliamentary leader in the Punjab Assembly.

Defending Bilawal’s recent comments, she said he had merely suggested that the Punjab government use Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) data to identify and compensate flood victims.

Calling BISP one of the world’s most effective social protection mechanisms, she cited a World Bank report to support her point. Sherry maintained that “an apology brings more respect” and that PPP did not believe in “politics of division or hatred”.

“If an apology is not offered, then don’t take our support for granted. The PPP remains the largest party in the Senate,” she warned before leading her party’s walkout.

Responding to her remarks, Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar struck a conciliatory tone, saying that President Asif Zardari had already taken cognisance of the situation and stepped in to play his constitutional role.

“Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Nawaz Sharif are both proponents of reconciliation. The political temperature will come down soon,” Tarar said, adding humorously that the opposition should not celebrate these “ups and downs” in coalition politics.

Meanwhile, separately, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif has clapped back at PTI’s Asad Qaiser for suggesting that PPP move a no-confidence motion against the government, telling him to focus on fixing his own party first.

Hilaria Baldwin admits she takes help from step-daughter Ireland Baldwn, when it comes to parenting.

The 41-year-old reveals that she often turns to 29-year-old Ireland as she navigates motherhood.

Speaking on Tuesday, Oct. 7 episode of Amanda Hirch’s Not Skinny But Not Fat podcast, Hilaria revealed: “Listen, I call her for advice. That was like the really interesting thing.” 

Hilaria began: “I don’t know how you were when your first was born, but I was like, really…didn’t know what I was doing. And I knew that I didn’t know what I was doing, so I was really insecure.”

Speaking about the time she accidentally got a drop of hot water in her eldest daughter’s mouth back when she was a baby, Hilaria revealed: “I run with this naked baby out to go get an elevator and I’m like hysterically crying. Like, my baby is not okay.”

She remembered. “And then I came out of my panic and I look at her and she’s just looking at me like all is well.”

“But that’s the kind of new mom I was. Whereas Ireland was like, ‘Boom, boom, I got this.’ She’s just so confident. And her instincts are so good, where I had to learn to trust myself a little bit,” explained Hilaria.

“In so many ways, I’m like leaning to her like, ‘What do you think about this?’ Especially because we have kids the same age. So I learn from her, I like to think that she learns a little bit from me. And when we talk, we’ll talk for like. I’ll look at the time and it’s been like two hours.”

George Clooney admitted to doing “blow and stuff” in the ’80s.

The 64-year-old actor opened up about doing drugs during ’80s in a recent interview with Esquire published on October 6.

The Oscar winning actor admitted that he “did blow and stuff” during his early acting days in Los Angeles but he noted that drugs were “never a big issue” for him.

“Eighty-two, I tried — I did blow and stuff,” he told the publisher. “I used to make jokes about how I did too many drugs, but the truth is, it was never a big issue for me at all.”

George went on to say, “And look, there was an episode of Taxi where they’re all doing blow. At the time, it was like, No, this is not like heroin. It’s not addictive. But then it was like, Oh, well, it’s actually pretty f****** bad.”

“Plus, it was all cut with mannitol. The baby laxative. Everybody would do a line and then take a s***,” he added.

Moreover, George said that Marijuana is “not my drug,” and about 15 years ago he and his friends had some weed brownies and went to watch The Wizard of Oz soundtracked by Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon.

“And we were f****,” George recalled, “I literal — I think all of us — there was like twenty of us in the screening room, and the movie ended, and we sat there without speaking for, like, hours. Hours!”