ISLAMABAD: Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan ruled out on Thursday the possibility of an in-house change and formation of a forward bloc of PML-N dissidents in the aftermath of Panama leaks.

“Why would Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif step down? It is yet to be decided how the inquiry into Panama leaks is to be carried out,” he said during an informal chat with reporters at an Iftar dinner hosted by him for them. His comments came after rumours started to do the rounds that an in-house change is being considered.

About the disqualification references filed with the Election Commission of Pakistan against the prime minister, he regretted that those clamouring over alleged corruption had no agenda but minting money through corruption during their days in power.

He said former prime minister Benazir Bhutto and her spouse Asif Ali Zardari had owned the Surrey Palace in the United Kingdom but denied having bought it through ill-gotten money. He pointed out that Mr Zardari had admitted owning the palace in 2004.

The minister also referred to the release of $60 million in assets belonging to Asif Ali Zardari by Swiss banks in 2008 days before he was named as the country’s president and the story involving the use of laundered money to purchase a diamond necklace.

“Can somebody ask Bilawal Bhutto if tax had been paid against the property abroad worth billions of rupees in the name of his father, mother and other family members,” he remarked.

He said there was no mention of the ownership of property in Dubai where Mr Zardari resided. He said the plunder of wealth had been going on for years, but the focus had been shifted to Panama leaks to divert attention of the people.

Chaudhry Nisar, however, surprised many by admitting that the government could not do anything about corruption. He said democratic countries in the world had anti-corruption institutions and pointed out that the National Accountability Bureau was a constitutional institution mandated to curb corruption. “If the government acts, it will be dubbed as political victimisation,” he remarked.

He also termed mere conjuncture that the prime minister was not willing to extend the term of the army chief and said he and the Punjab chief minister were not only in favour of the extension, but also working for it.

The minister merely smiled when a questioner said it was believed that he was acceptable to the army as the country’s chief executive. Answering a question, he said there was no room for a deputy prime minister in the Constitution.

He confirmed that some MNAs of his party had some reservations and wanted funds for development, but said there was no chance of formation of a forward bloc.

The minister said the government had decided to extend the Protection of Pakistan Act for another two years, but after consulting other political parties.

Answering a question about the countrywide re-verification of CNICs commencing from July 1, he said it was too early to estimate the number of foreign nationals holding Pakistan’s CNICs, but said they must be in thousands.

Published in Dawn, July 1st, 2016