Talks were under way with the PML-N for joining the federal and Punjab government, PPP leader Yousaf Raza Gilani said on Sunday.

“We have not denied joining the government,” he told reporters in Lahore when asked about the question. “A committee has been formed in this regard which will talk to the government.”

In the recent past, several experts have wondered whether the PPP would join the federal government or not.

“We don’t have much space in Punjab. We will be part of the Centre and Punjab after seeing the space.”

Gilani, who is also the Senate chairman and acting president, added that the PPP was in favour of holding talks with everyone. “It is to be seen with whom the PTI will hold talks.”

He further said that any bill or law would not be passed without their approval.

Gilani was of the view that all stakeholders should sit together and make decisions. He noted that the PPP has always been part of the National Security meetings, even when the government was led by Imran Khan, though Khan himself did not attend those meetings.

He further highlighted that when his government was in power, they had increased the support price for wheat. “We provided wheat to farmers at the international price. There were two floods during that time, but our government still performed excellently. Our cotton, sugar, wheat, and rice were being exported,” he said.

The acting president said that Pakistan’s wheat was being smuggled to Afghanistan and Central Asia in the past. “We set the wheat price according to the global market and exported it. This stopped the wheat smuggling and also benefited the farmers,” he added.

He was of the view that there was an issue of middlemen profiting from wheat. An inquiry was under way regarding the matter and the media would be informed once the inquiry report was available, he said.

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Meanwhile, a PPP delegation called on PM Shehbaz in Islamabad on Sunday. The delegation included former prime minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, Syed Naveed Qamar, Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah and Sherry Rehman.

They discussed the overall political situation of the country and deliberated on the budget for the fiscal year 2024-25 during the meeting.

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, Federal Minister for Planning Ahsan Iqbal, Adviser to Prime Minister on Political Affairs Rana Sanaullah and Federal Minister for Law and Justice Azam Nazeer Tarar were also present on the occasion.