LAHORE: The demand for an apology from Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan does not only matter for Senator Aitzaz Ahsan but for the whole of Pakistan People’s Party.

“If there is no apology… Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif should come forward and take prompt action against Nisar otherwise the PPP will review its position on the current crisis,” PPP Secretary-General Sardar Latif Khosa told Dawn.

“As Chaudhry Nisar has already showed his intentions to further take on the PPP leader, the ball is in the prime minister’s court to initiate strict action against his interior minister,” he said.

Former president Asif Ali Zardari has also taken strong exception to Chaudhry Nisar’s diatribe against Aitzaz Ahsan and demanded an apology from him.

“The PPP under the leadership of Zardari will review its position if Nisar does not apologise. The PPP is in no mood to take Nisar’s statement lightly. It is not something related to an individual of the party. It is the matter of ego for the party,” Mr Khosa said.

Nisar on Thursday accused Aitzaz Ahsan of using the name of the late Benazir Bhutto for “business interests and personal gains” and being a facilitator of the biggest land mafia in the country (an obvious reference to a property tycoon who is close to top political leaders).

On Friday, Aitzaz gave a befitting reply to Nisar in parliament demanding that the premier get rid of “enemies” within his own camp. Nisar who could not get a chance to respond to Aitzaz’s speech announced holding a press conference on Saturday.

“Nisar should better apologise to Aitzaz at his press conference instead of further escalating the tension between the PML-N and the PPP,” Mr Khosa demanded. He said the PML-N government seemed to be in a hurry to do “hat-trick” and those close to Mr Sharif were causing his downfall.

“It is not only Nisar who is causing troubles for Mr Sharif. Other members of the prime minister’s team – Pervaiz Rashid, Saad Rafique, Khwaja Asif and Ahsan Iqbal – contributed a lot to the crisis the country is facing today,” he said.

Mr Khosa said the PML-N government was still not serious to stave off the crisis as it was using the platform of parliament for “anti-army” speeches. “If Nawaz does not take stock of the situation and rein in his team members, nobody can help him in a sticky situation,” he warned.

Published in Dawn, September 6th , 2014