“Prime Minister Imran Khan is not going anywhere”, said Federal Minister of Railways, Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed speaking on Geo News “Naya Pakistan”, yesterday in Karachi. The Federal Minister of Railways said that there is no pressure on the government and Prime Minister Khan is not going anywhere in any case, with or without the protest rallies anticipated by the opposition.
Rasheed added that the opposition had “misunderstood” that the Prime Minister would step down from power simply because of their protest rallies. The federal minister said the opposition would organize rallies and this would only help spread the coronavirus in the country. He warned that “ there could also be an incident of terrorism.”
Rasheed warned the opposition on live television that if they tried to take the law into their own hands, the law “will lay its hands on them.” He said the opposition can organize rallies as it is their democratic right, but the Pakistani People’s Party will not follow them and they will soon lose their support. The minister added that all these parties were afraid of PM Khan because he had “no accusations of corruption and theft”.
Sheikh Rasheed predicted that PPP lawmakers would not resign from the Sindh Assembly. A massive resignation from the assemblies has been listed as one of the measures taken by the Pakistani opposition democratic movement to put pressure on the government, reports Geo News.
“I tell the whole nation that the opposition has a dangerous program. It is a global program against the stability of the country and they are going to be their facilitators,” he said. Rasheed further added that Nawaz Sharif himself would be responsible for the mistakes he made, while admitting that he himself supported his exit from the country for medical treatment.
The Federal Minister claimed that people do not hate Prime Minister Imran Khan but complain about price increases. He said that all efforts are being made to control inflation and that the prime minister “will put an end to it for good”.
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“Imran Khan has learned a lot but most of his ministers are inexperienced,” said the federal minister. “I spoke of the increase in drug prices during the cabinet meeting. I am still talking about the poor,” he added.
Rasheed warns rallies will spread coronavirus
Last week, Rasheed warned that he fears the rallies of the opposition parties will spread coronavirus again. “I fear that their rallies will spread the virus again,” Rasheed told reporters in Rawalpindi. He advised people to be cautious and to wear masks to protect themselves from coronavirus.
Asked whether or not there was a plan to disallow opposition to hold protest rallies on the pretext of coronavirus and terrorism, Rasheed responded: “I know about the local and international situation. Terrorist organisations want civil war in our country.” He said the opposition must hold rallies under democratic norms. “But if it does anything wrong, the law will take its course,” he warned.
The opposition parties formed an alliance against Prime Minister Imran Khan’s government in September and announced that they will hold anti-government rallies across the country before a “decisive” long march in January 2021. Rasheed, however, said the opposition will “come out on the streets and be defeated”.
The minister also commented on the arrest of PML-N president Shehbaz Sharif and said the opposition leader has himself gone into “self-protection” so he does not have to carry the burden of his brother’s narrative.
Commenting on Nawaz Sharif’s activities in London, Rasheed said the government will make every attempt to bring back the former prime minister to Pakistan and will be made to face the law.