In time, however, the State Council became increasingly secular as did the successive Druk Desi, ponlop, and dzongpon, and intense rivalries developed among the ponlop of Tongsa and Paro and the dzongpon of Punakha, Thimphu, and Wangdue Phodrang.
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The dzongpon of Punakha—who had emerged victorious—had broken with the central government and set up a rival Druk Desi while the legitimate Druk Desi sought the protection of the ponlop of Paro and was later deposed.
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The British mission dealt alternately with the rival ponlop of Paro and the ponlop of Tongsa (the latter acted on behalf of the Druk Desi), but Bhutan rejected the peace and friendship treaty it offered.