Nawaz Sharif’s platelets increased after he reached London: Sheikh Rashid

RAWALPINDI: The Federal Minister for Railways, Sheikh Rashid, has challenged Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari by saying that he will hold a rally in Larkana in response to the party's December 27 political gathering in Rawalpindi.

"If you're coming to Rawalpindi, I'll come to Larkana," he said. "I am coming there [Larkana] to hold a rally," the Geo News reported on Wednesday. Rashid said that Rawalpindi was the city of noble people who welcomed people wanting to hold political rallies. The PPP has announced a rally at the Liaquat Bagh to mark the 12th death anniversary of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto. Benazir was assassinated in a gun-and-bomb attack in Rawalpindi on December 27, 2007 while she was campaigning for general elections 2008.

Rashid said that he had advised Bilawal to be cautious in politics, as he was still a child. "You've remained a child all your life," he said.

"This is why I'm always telling you to play cautiously." The railways minister spoke about the Gen (retd) Pervez Musharraf high treason verdict, saying that the government respected the decision of the courts. However, he criticised paragraph 66 of the verdict. "Only one sentence [from the judgement] is bothering me. "Bodies aren't hanged or dragged in any civilised part of the world," he said.

Rashid said that the entire cabinet had unanimously agreed not to remove Maryam Nawaz's name from the ECL. He said that whatever decision the court took was its prerogative. Criticising former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, the federal minister said as soon as he had reached London, the number of his platelets increased. "Nawaz's platelets are not increasing or decreasing in London," he said. "After reaching London, Nawaz's platelets are behaving like the stock exchange--they only keep on increasing," he added.