ISLAMABAD - Amid heated debate over “souring relations” between Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan in the wake of the Panama Papers case, the sulking interior minister has recently got issued a blue passport — an indication that he might quit the ministry.
In addition to that, the interior ministry on Friday officially announced that Chaudhry Nisar would hold an important press conference on Sunday (tomorrow) at the Punjab House, giving rise to speculations that the minister would announce his resignation from cabinet.
Though the ministry did not provide details of possible content of the presser, however, sources said that Nisar would break his silence over his relations with the party leadership as he had been kept out of the loop for over a month in the consultative process over the Panama crisis.
The interior minister, who has remained associated with the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) for around 35 years, was not even present in Friday’s important consultative meeting - held at the Prime Minister’s House after the special implementation bench of the Supreme Court reserved its judgement in the Panama Papers case.
On the other hand, some government officials denied that the interior minister was quitting the cabinet.
Some within the ruling PML-N, who know the politics of Chaudhry Nisar, are of the view that he had always played aggressive politics, while remaining on the forefront and did not like submissive style of politics.
They say that in view the present circumstances, especially after the prime minister recently spoke at the hometown of Defence Minister Khawaja Asif, who is considered part of the anti-Nisar lobby in the party, he would quit his ministry.
They have firm belief that Chaudhry Nisar at the very least would not leave the party at the moment.
Sources confided to The Nation that the minister earlier had a diplomatic passport, with validity until 2021, in his use.
Nisar, the other day, also got a blue passport with 10-year validity, in addition to the more valuable diplomatic passport that is issued to the ministers and state ministers only.
“Despite having travelled on the diplomatic passport since he took charge of the ministry, it is surprising for many that the minister has obtained a blue passport – to which all members of parliament are entitled,” said a senior government official.
Under the relevant laws and rules, the members of the parliament (both from National Assembly and Senate) are entitled to blue passport, while ministers, ministers of state, advisers to the prime minister and special assistants to the prime minister are entitled to the much-prized red diplomatic passport, an official of the Passport Office explained.
He further said that the diplomatic passport had to be surrendered under the law as soon as the minister, state ministers or advisers quit the job or leave their office with the completion of the tenure of the government.
The lawmakers, former or sitting, then have to switch to the blue passport after surrendering red diplomatic passport as members of the parliament have lifetime entitlement to the blue passport, the official said.
The red diplomatic passports are issued on the directions of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and these are also issued to Pakistani diplomats who are given postings abroad besides the ministers and the state ministers.
A spokesperson of the interior ministry did not comment on the issue.
However, an official of the interior ministry viewed that any minister, under the rules, could have in his possession both types of passports - blue and red.
The relations of the interior minister and his party are at a low ever since the Supreme Court constituted the JIT on Panama Papers case.
The minister is not happy with the way the prime minister and his cabinet colleagues responded to the Panama Papers case, both at the SC and then at the JIT.
Last Tuesday Nisar postponed all his official engagements and remained absent from work until Wednesday, citing severe pain in his back.
However, sources close to the minister insisted that he had left his work because of his ongoing tussle with the party leadership over the way the Panama Papers case was dealt.
The minister resumed his official work on Thursday, and remained busy in overseeing file work when the prime minister was holding an important consultative meeting to look into the legal and political options in the wake of judgement in Panama Papers case.
State Minister for Information Marriyum Aurangzeb, the other day, had rebutted some unconfirmed media reports that Chaudhry Nisar was going to resign because of his differences with the party over Panama Papers issue.
In the past, Nisar had left official work citing bad health and stayed in London for weeks following his differences with the party when he was the Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly during the last PPP government.
The rift between Chaudhry Nisar and other senior cabinet members came into the open last week when the former expressed his reservations in the cabinet meeting over the way of handling of the Panama Papers case.
Last Saturday night, Nisar issued a strong-worded rebuttal to the remarks of Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal – who had criticised his colleague in a TV program.
The interior minister, in the cabinet meeting, had told Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif that some of his cabinet colleagues, who are in the habit of flattery, had a role in taking the government as well as the party to the brink after the Panama case made headlines.
He had advised his party to avoid a clash with other state institutions including the judiciary and the military on the issue.
Unlike his other cabinet colleagues, Nisar did not publicly defend Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his family before and after the submission of the damning JIT report before the SC that alleged the Sharif family of having offshore wealth beyond known sources of income.