TWO letters from Punjab Governor Salman Taseer to CM Shahbaz Sharif, questioning his government's actions, would disturb many. One criticised its interference to resolve the crisis created by the arrest of certain GCU students. The other castigates its action against doctors in a government hospital whose negligence led to the death of a patient. In the case of the students, the government had acted to allay widespread concern created by the registration of cases against them under anti-terrorism laws, leading to the arrests of sme and raids on the houses of others. The withdrawal of cases brought the turmoil to an end. Two committees subsequently appointed to probe the issue have, in their preliminary reports, termed the GCU administration's action too harsh, thus lending support to the government action. In the case of te negligent doctors, this paper had taken exception to the arbitrary manner in which one of them was arrested, provoking hundreds of colleagues to take to the streets. Their negligence was however condemned and an enquiry demanded. The letters have been sent at a time when a modicum of confidence seemed to have been restored between the coalition partners in Punjab, bringing to an end the political uncertainty created by muscle flexing from both sides. The Governor, as representative of the federal government, is expected to help build bridges with the provincial administration. Mr Taseer needs to quit meddling in something that is none of his business. The letter on the doctors' issue led to a rebuttal from the Special Assistant to the CM, couched in harsh language, and which will only add fuel to the fire. Despite the PML(N) having decided to sit on the opposition benches in Parliament, it still rules Punjab with the PPP as a major partner. Both parties are signatories to the Charter of Democracy, binding them to do nothing that can upset the elected governments. For this, they have to abstain from the type of no-holds-barred tussle they remained engaged in from 1988 to 1999, to the detriment of democracy. They have to respect the mandate of each other. The two letters and the rebuttal are therefore uncalled for.