ISLAMABAD: The war of words between the government and PPP continued on Friday as leaders from the two sides levelled further allegations against each other with People’s Party demanding formation of a national government.

PPP Senator Aitzaz Ahsan said in a TV talk show that the PML-N government led by Nawaz Sharif should be ousted and a national government should be formed.

“A joint session of parliament should be convened to take parties into confidence about the national government,” he said. “All the federal ministers are coward. They should be fired as the Nawaz Sharif administration has become dysfunctional.”

The confrontation started earlier this week when Leader of the Opposition Syed Khursheed Shah accused Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan of not implementing the National Action Plan (NAP) designed to eliminate terrorism and extremism.

The interior minister reciprocally blamed Mr Shah on Thursday for taking ‘undue’ benefits by ‘misusing’ his position.

Accusing Prime Minister Sharif and his cabinet of making money, Aitzaz Ahsan said cowards could do no harm to terrorists.

Referring to PPP leader Dr Asim Hussain, who is presently under the NAB custody, Mr Ahsan said: “Those who are not terrorists are being projected as militants. Dr Asim Hussain might be a corrupt person, but he is certainly not a terrorist.”

PPP Spokesman Senator Farhatullah Babar told Dawn that whatever the PPP leaders were saying in their statements were in the line of the party’s stance.

Published in Dawn, January 30th, 2016