No threat to govt: Sh Rashid

PESHAWAR: Federal Minister for Railways Sheikh Rashid Ahmed on Tuesday said that there was no challenge to Prime Minister Imran Khan and the government would complete its tenure.

Talking to reporters here, he said that the opposition was in disarray and there was no threat to the government. “The opposition leaders including the opposition in the National Assembly Shahbaz Sharif will have to face corruption charges,” he added. The minister said that he was monitoring the implementation of the standard operating procedures (SOPs) and would visit the divisional headquarters to inspect safety measures. Sheikh Rashid said, “We got permission to resume the train operation yesterday. Three trains will be run from Peshawar and another will be added if required. Sixty percent passengers will be carried.”

The minister said that Prime Minister Imran Khan would complete his five-year tenure as he was facing no political challenge. He said the National Accountability Bureau Amendment Ordinance would not come soon and the anti-graft body will take action against both the government and the opposition leaders till May 31.

Earlier, the federal minister inspected the arrangement made for facilitating the passengers after resuming the service. Peshawar Divisional Commercial Officer (DCO) told The News that new coaches had been fixed in all the trains to be made operational for the service, adding that new schedule had been issued for the service. He added that only passengers with online tickets would be allowed to board the trains and had followed all the SoPs specified by the government. The official said that staff members with entry passes would be allowed in the premises only when they were wearing masks, gloves and possessing sanitizers. These passengers were also required to fulfill these requirements.

The passengers were also required to maintain six feet distance during travel. The cafeteria and food stalls at the station would remain open, it said, adding that medical staff would remain on duty for 24 hours.