Govt will complete its five-year constitutional tenure: Sheikh Rashid
Says had he not visited Murree following news to oversee situation, the toll would have been as high as 30 to 40 instead of 23
Says Sharif family has no place in national politics anymore
Says Pakistan keeps going back to the IMF & with every package, the Fund has made its conditions tougher
RAWALPINDI ( Web News )
Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed has expressed the resolve that government will complete its five-year constitutional tenure and will continue its agenda of serving the people.
Speaking to journalists in Rawalpindi during his visit to inspect the Mother and Child Hospital (M&CH) on Sunday, Sheikh Rashid Ahmed said past rulers plundered the national exchequer, while Prime Minister Imran Khan is committed to strengthen the national economy and address inflation through wise decisions.
On the issue of economy, the Interior Minister said approval of Finance (Supplementary) Bill 2021-22 is a great success of the government and its allies.
About prevailing political situation in the country, Sheikh Rashid Ahmed said public will witness positive developments in next two to three months.
Sheikh Rashid also spoke about the Murree tragedy — in which 23 people had lost their lives while being stuck in their vehicles due to heavy snow — and said that had he not visited the hill station following the news to oversee the situation, the toll would have been as high as 30 to 40 instead of 23. The minister said that he went to Murree for the sake of humanity and not because he was a minister.
Sheikh Rashid added the government had to summon the Rangers in Murree because people were not listening to police personnel and were trying to enter the hill station by force.
Had the Rangers not been summoned, 500 more vehicles would have entered Murree and that would have led to a bigger disaster, he said. “Went I went to Murree, I had ordered the evacuation of more than 700 people who were stuck in their cars,” he claimed.
Sheikh Rashid ruled out the chance of an in-house change in the National Assembly as proposed by the Opposition and said that Prime Minister Imran Khan would complete the constitutional tenure.
He said that there was no threat to the PTI-led government from the Opposition’s long marches, adding that the government would present a people-friendly budget in the next fiscal year.
Commenting on the Opposition Leader in National Assembly Shahbaz Sharif’s remarks, Sheikh Rashid said that Imran Khan was not a scary dream but a sweet dream for him. The minister said he had never seen a politician like Nawaz Sharif who left the country for personal interests.
“If the Opposition tabled a no-confidence motion against the PM Imran Khan, they would face the same destiny as they experienced in the passing of the finance bill,” Sheikh Rashid said and mentioned that the 12 members of the Opposition were absent from the National Assembly during the last session. “This figure would be 26 if they forwarded a no-confidence motion against PM Imran Khan,” he predicted.
He also said that the government was fully prepared to handle the long marches to be taken out by the anti-government alliance, the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), and the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) in March and February, respectively.
The minister said that he didn’t believe these protests will give the government a “tough time” as this was not the first time the opposition was marching on Islamabad. Sheikh Rashid said that the government will block the entry points to the federal capital due to the march if the opposition tried to take the law into their hands.
He also advised the opposition to consider the Omicron spread before starting a long march towards Islamabad.
The minister also downplayed the alleged rift in the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), saying Imran Khan is the sole leader of the PTI as he “singlehandedly built the party”.
About the tough conditions by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) imposed in the recently passed Finance (Supplementary) Bill 2021 and SBP Amendment Bill 2021, Sheikh Rashid said that Pakistan keeps going back to the IMF and with every package, the Fund has made its conditions tougher.
He also criticised former premier Nawaz Sharif for going to London, saying that Nawaz spent more time on efforts to escape to London than to oust Imran Khan’s government.
He reiterated that the Sharif family has no place in national politics anymore. “Earlier there were rumours of a deal but now there won’t be any deal either,” he added.
Meanwhile reacting to Sheikh Rashid’s statement about the Murree tragedy, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Punjab President and Member National Assembly Rana Sanaullah Khan said: “Sheikh Rashid’s statement about the Murree incident has set alarm bells ringing for Imran Khan.”
He said that it’s high time PM Imran Khan resigned from his post because he has “turned into a nightmare” for the masses. “Imran Khan is a dream-come-true for those who steal wheat, sugar, and medicines from this country,” Rana Sanaullah said.