Why is PPP angry with Ch Nisar?

The latest attack by Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) on Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan over his statement about separating terrorist and sectarian outfits may get some support from other parties, but not many people know the actual reasons behind this ongoing tussle that has deepened now.

The PPP, which has not demanded the resignation of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif even after Panama leaks, is constantly demanding Nisar's removal particularly after the release of Quetta blast inquiry report. He also came under criticism from PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto after his meeting with the leaders of Defence of Pakistan Council.

Nisar rejected the allegations saying “everyone knows why the PPP is against me”, perhaps a hint at some ongoing inquiries by the FIA against Asif Ali Zardari’s close friend Anwar Majeed, and raids by Rangers at his offices in Karachi on the day the PPP leader arrived in Pakistan after self-exile of almost one year. Not only the Sindh government reacted to the raid but also Zardari, who criticised the way the action was taken.

Some insiders believe that Anwar Majeed's case was the second strict action in Sindh against someone close to the PPP leader after the arrest of Dr Asim Hussain about 17 months back, followed by the release of a video confession, which the PPP believes was allegedly done on behest of the interior minister.

All this is happening at a time when the Rangers powers under Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA) had expired and, for the last three days, the paramilitary force is without the ATA powers, deployed under Article 147 CrPC.

Now, as extension is due, the government wants firm assurance that prior information would be given before any high-profile raid and the inquiry against Anwar Majeed would be withdrawn, something which the interior ministry might resist.

Zardari, before leaving for Dubai, held at least four meetings with Dr Asim Hussain, and each lasted for over an hour.

Prior to Dr Asim's case, the interior minister was supervising the Karachi operation and the PPP-led Sindh government was happy with him and the latter visited Karachi and held meetings with former chief minister Qaim Ali Shah.

However, when the FIA, which works under the interior ministry, raided Sindh Building Control Authority and took away some 14,000 files of plots to probe 'china-cutting’, followed by a raid on Fisheries Department, the relationship went sour and the provincial government termed it centre's interference.

Thus, the PPP circles believe that Chaudhry Nisar is responsible for breaking friendly ties between the PPP and the PML-N or between Zardari and Nawaz Sharif. Some PML-N leaders also shared the same view.

Many of us witnessed Chaudhry Aitzaz Ahsan’s unprecedented outburst against Nisar in the National Assembly, followed by Nisar's press conference. However, Nisar was told to refrain from escalating the tension, thanks to PM.

It is also a fact that the PM never wanted tussle with the PPP, and in many ways told the interior minister not to reopen inquiries pending against Zardari. A source said the minister told PM that he would not hold any fresh inquiry but would not stop any old one.

But, the manner in which the FIA got active in Karachi clearly indicated that all this would not be possible without the prior knowledge, if not approval, of the minister.

The PPP now got a chance to hit back hard at Nisar after his back-to-back statements and Quetta inquiry report.

Ch Nisar put himself in some trouble when he separated terrorist outfits from sectarian outfits as this statement has come after Quetta inquiry report, which he intend to challenge in the Supreme Court. Secondly, when the civil and military leadership agreed on setting up of military courts, it was decided that only those cases would be sent to the military courts that dealt with outlawed groups and sectarian killings.

So, his statement needs some explanation as what does he mean when he says that the issue of sectarian outfits needs to be dealt separately and requires separate laws. How he differentiate between the two types of outfits, one involved in terrorism and the other in sectarianism.

Knowing the minister for the last two or three decades, one would know that he always has an independent view and even at times challenged his party leader, Nawaz Sharif's narrative, whether it related to foreign policy particularly relationship with India or national security issues. At times, he has even issued a statement on matters related to foreign policy.

Many believe that he was the brain behind taking initiative for talks with Taliban, prior to taking the ownership of Zarb-e-Azb or an operation in North Waziristan. He also played his role in letting Sharifs go to Banigala for taking Imran Khan into confidence.

Chaudhry Nisar also has a different viewpoint on madrassa reforms, and has always been against taking harsh line unless it becomes necessary.

Some believe that Ch Nisar's meeting with Defence of Pakistan Council leaders should be seen in the backdrop of its Islamabad convention and perhaps he wanted to neutralise the situation because of its timing as Imran Khan and the PTI leaders had allegedly sought some support from the outlawed groups, something which the PTI denied.

Nisar is not all that wrong when he questions as to why the PPP government never took any action against the Defence of Pakistan Council, while in power.

The PML circles also raised a question about the former interior minister, the late Naseerullah Babar, considered as the architect of Taliban or how another interior minister, Rehman Malik, allegedly 'accommodated' some extremist clerics in Islamabad.

The PPP, on the other hand, accuses him of having soft corner for outlawed groups including Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, saying that his reaction over the death of Hakimullah Mehsud or Mullah Akhtar Mansour was ample proof of his sympathetic views towards them.

The fact remains that prior to 9/11, the successive civil and military establishments views on the outlawed groups particularly al-Qaeda, TTP and their local affiliates, had been different, which later on resulted in imposing a ban on sectarian as well as jihadi outfits including Shia and Sunni alleged militant groups and jihadi groups like Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammad.

On the domestic and political front, Ch Nisar Ali was among the few PML-N leaders who always have serious reservations about party's relationship with the PPP. He was also not very keen in supporting or signing the Charter of Democracy (CoD) between Nawaz Sharif and the late Benazir Bhutto.

The PPP leadership and Zardari know that Chaudhry Nisar has a lot of influence on PM Nawaz Sharif and even, at times, both have serious disagreement on issues including the handling of Imran Khan's first 'dharna' in 2014.

However, PM Sharif has always reposed confidence in Nisar, even when he and Federal Defence Minister Khwaja Mohammad Asif were not on talking terms.

With political uncertainty prevailing in Islamabad in the backdrop of Panama leaks case, and the PPP launching a protest campaign from today, the relationship between the PPP and the interior minister may further aggravate as more attacks are likely on Ch Nisar, especially when he is not ready to withdraw a money-laundering inquiry against well-known money changers and a probe into the Anwar Majeed’s alleged wrongdoings.

The writer is a senior columnist and analyst of Geo, The News and Jang. Twitter: @MazharAbbasGEO

--Originally published in The News