ISLAMABAD/LAHORE:

Alarmed by the specter of creeping provincialism, sparked by tit-for-tat barbs over the flood response, the top leadership of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) huddled together on Wednesday in a bid to douse tensions and salvage coalition harmony.

National Assembly Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq stepped in as mediator, hosting a meeting between the two sides at his chamber to defuse tensions.

In Lahore, meanwhile, PPP leader Qamar Zaman Kaira denounced Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz's recent speeches as "inappropriate".

The criticism drew an immediate riposte from Punjab Information Minister Azma Bukhari, who accused the PPP of politicising flood relief and unfairly singling out Punjab.

The PPP delegation, led by Syed Naveed

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