Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan on Saturday said there is no place of deputy prime minister in the constitution in absence of the prime minister.
“Chairman Pakistan People’s Party Bilawal Bhutto is no more a child though he is unaware of politics,” Nisar said while talking to media during a visit to his constituency for development schemes.
Bilawal Bhutto had a couple of days ago posted on his Twitter account, “Chaudhry Nisar’s campaign to become PM is not going as well as planned and he is getting frustrated. Poor form taking advantage of PM’s illness like this”.
To a query regarding Bilawal’s statement, Nisar said he would not comment on any irrelevant and non-serious statement.
He said nobody could take place of prime minister in a parliamentary system.
“Nowhere in the democratic countries of the world has anybody taken place in case PM gets ill or goes abroad. You cannot find any such example anywhere, including United Kingdom, India, Australia and Canada,” he said.
He said the PM had gone on several foreign trips abroad earlier, but no political crisis happened. The cabinet continues to perform its functions in the absence of the prime minister and nobody can replace the PM in the parliamentary system.
Nisar also said that the National Counter Terrorism Authority (NACTA) was fully functional and working proactively to combat the menace of terrorism.
He said there was sufficient supply of finance and human resources from government to counter terrorism.
The minister said a building for NACTA had been acquired and it was being renovated which would be ready in the next few months.
“The Joint Intelligence Directorate, which is an important component of NACTA, will also become functional,” he said.
Responding to a question, the interior minister said that overall security situation has improved in the country over the last three years.
He lauded the performance of civil-military leadership, political parties and the entire nation who turned the tide of terrorism through their will and determination.
The interior minister urged the nation to cooperate with National Database & Registration Authority (NADRA) in the process of re-verification of their computerized National Identity Cards.
He said the people will receive messages in their mobile phones in the next three to four months about the verification of their respective family trees.
He assured that the common man will be fully facilitated in this process.