PM moves to placate brooding allies.

ISLAMABAD -- Amid threats of desertions from the ruling coalition, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday geared up efforts to address reservations of the allied parties without whom his government could crumble after losing its razor-thin majority in the National Assembly.

The prime minister met with top Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leaders, including former president Asif Ali Zardari and Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto, to discuss the ongoing political situation in the country.

The meeting was attended by high-level politicians from the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), including Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah, Economic Affairs Minister Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, Railways and Aviation Minister Khawaja Saad Rafique and Malik Ahmad Khan.

The meeting came after allies complained of lack of development funds during the National Assembly session this week. They said that the government was not fulfilling the promises made to them at the time of the no-confidence motion against former premier Imran Khan.

During the meeting, sources said, Shehbaz discussed with the PPP leadership the agreement reached with the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P), including the delay in the appointment of MQM-P leader Nasreen Jalil as the Sindh governor.

Those familiar with the developments said that the participants also deliberated on the amendments to the accountability laws, appointment of new National Accountability Bureau (NAB) chairman, political situation arising after the local bodies election in Sindh and the Lahore High Court's decision regarding election of the Punjab chief minister.

The sources said that both sides agreed to work together and address the reservations being openly expressed by the coalition partners. Emphasising the need for taking everyone along, they added, the leaders resolved that they would not leave the allies brooding.

The PML-N-led government has started feeling the heat from major allies like the MQM-P, the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F), the Balochistan Awami Party (BAP) and an independent National Assembly member (MNA) Aslam Bhootani.

During the budget session of the National Assembly earlier this week, the MQM-P expressed serious reservations on the conduct of the local bodies elections...