Sh Rashid seeks answers to 10 questions from Nawaz

LAHORE: Railways Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed Saturday demanded that Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N) supremo Nawaz Sharif should make public the number of calls he allegedly made to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi “from outside Pakistan” and also the “agenda” of those calls. “Why did you call the head of the enemy state [India] from outside Pakistan? Did you feel threatened that your calls were against national security and would be leaked?” Rashid asked as he made the startling allegation in a press conference held at the Lahore at Railway headquarters.

The minister said: “Nawaz Sharif should tell [the nation] who gave India the address to Ajmal Kasab.” He also raised a number of questions before the media that, what he said, he wanted former prime minister Nawaz Sharif to answer.

In his press conference, he asked Nawaz to come clean regarding the money he allegedly received from Osama bin Laden in the form of charity.

The minister also accused the former premier of taking money from Qatar for elections.

“How much money did you spend in the 2013 elections and how much money did you receive through Saifur Rehman from Qatar? The nation should be informed about it, Sh Rashid said.

The minister then asked the former premier to tell the nation who sent busses filled with attackers to target former chief justice Sajjad Ali Shah. He claimed that the PML-N planned “in London” the recent violence outside the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Lahore office.

Sh Rashid said the former premier “talks about vote, but not about the court.”

“You made excuses that you were ill and left the county,” he alleged.

The minister also slammed the PML-N supremo for “making speeches against Pakistan’s national security and institutions. Nawaz first denied the existence of DawnLeaks, but admitted it now,” he said.

He was leaving these questions/ allegations and hoped that the PML-N would respond by Monday, said Sheikh Rashid.

He added that the Pakistan Army was standing shoulder to shoulder with the civil government.

Sh Rashid said he was not “the spokesperson for any institution” a day after proudly stating that he was proud of being “a spokesperson for the army”.

The Railways minister said Nawaz Sharif had played the role of an influence agent of India. Cowards of short stature hold meeting in the darkness of night. The ‘Tota’ [parrot] League will come out of the PML-N instead of Sheen League. The Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) would not resign from the Sindh Assembly at any cost, he claimed. Elections would be held on those seats which would be rendered vacant with the resignations of the PML-N parliamentarians.

Sh Rashid said that the opposition would come to the fore by December and January. He said, “I am not talking about a meeting. I am talking about meetings.

The PML-N will not come out and will hold elections there. I have never made a statement at the behest of anyone. I am a veteran of the Pakistan Army,” Sh Rashid added.

The minister said that Nawaz Sharif talks on personal agenda, instead of national issues.

He said that requests were made to the media houses to stop the footage of shoppers filled with stones.

“Who issued the letter through Hussain Haqqani with the forged signature of Peter Gilbert for Benazir’s character assassination,” he asked.

“I advise them to be senior to all people. Qamar Bajwa is the most respected person. I am a senior in political experience. I say to have respect. There are 14 ministries. Anyone can go to NAB against me,” the Railway minister said.

He said where there were so many fugitives, Jahangir Tareen would also be included in it.

Sh Rashid said the PML-Sheen is a path to betterment while the PML-N and PML-M alliance was planted with stone politics from London. He said that the Maulana should create a Shia and Sunni alliance.

He admitted that sugar and flour had become expensive.

All the old timetables are being restored from October 15, while online booking of freight from Lahore will also be done from October 20, the minister said.