PML-N show of power is against PPP, not PM: Sh Rasheed

ISLAMABAD: Interior Minister Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed has said the opposition is practically dead and the PDM parties are confronting rifts and therefore pose no challenge to Prime Minister Imran Khan but in fact the opposition leaderships are his facilitators.

Talking to the media persons in Islamabad on Wednesday, he quipped that if any journalist could tell him the names of 11 PDM parties, he was willing to give him Rs500 as prize money. He said that there are only two and a half parties in PDM -- half party is that of Maulana Fazlur Rehman, one party is PPP and one is PML-N.

"It is a pity that the politics of Maulana Fazlur Rehman is not based on ground realities and void of substance." The PDM conducted rallies for six months and agreed not to take part in the elections, but later reversed its course and contested the polls, he added. The interior minister further said the PML-N will also stand exposed on the day Mayram Nawaz appears before the NAB.

On March 26, the nation will witness how much public support they enjoy, he added. Rasheed said the PML-N is holding a power show in its very home town. "This power show is not against PM but their show of strength is against the PPP.” But "no matter how hard the PML-N tries, PPP will never opt for en mass resignation.”

However, he admitted his prediction about PDM’s long march was proved wrong. Criticising the PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif for going abroad after making fool of the whole nation, he said revolutionary political leaders like Chairman Mao, Ho Chi Minh, Karl Marx and Ayatollah Khomeini led the nations from the front rather than from foreign lands. Similarly, Rasheed said that Maryam Nawaz Sharif had managed to secure bail from the Lahore High Court but is still calling people to the streets. The leaders do not turn their supporters into human shields for their own defence, in fact, they brave the threats to safeguard the nation.

During her last appearance before the NAB, the private news channels reported her supporters pelting stones at the NAB headquarters and the law enforcement agencies.

"In fact, they had even brought the stones with them," he said. He said there will be no action against the PDM supporters if they do not take law into their hands. The interior minister added “we approved the deployment of Rangers in Lahore on Friday at the request of provincial government.”

The interior minister reminded the nation of corona red alert for Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad and Peshawar, adding that he is not saying this to scare anyone but people need to be careful against the spread of infection from such mass gatherings.

Replying to a question, Sheikh Rasheed said that he does not think there would be any reshuffle in cabinet, however, the number of ministers could increase in the coming days.

He said the Swiss accounts case will reopen tomorrow if they do not open today, adding that the governments come and go, but the cases only end when the man dies. Sheikh Rasheed said that the prime minister has set up a 10-member committee consisting of senior leaders of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf to hold negotiations with all the parties.

Rasheed said it is the focus of government to address the issue of price hike, adding that the government will overcome the issue of price spiral in the next one and a half years. He said Imran Khan is sticking to his stance against corruption and the people want recovery of the plundered wealth.

The courts will give verdicts against the robbers of the national wealth. But so far, there has been no success as no money has been recovered from the big thieves, the interior minister said.

He said three lakh applications have so far been received for online visas which was the PM's initiative. He said he will also visit Kuwait to get the ban on Kuwaiti visas lifted.

The interior minister said a plan has been finalised to establish a media city for the news channels. He said a scheme to provide accommodation to the journalists of Rawalpindi and Islamabad will also be launched by Ramazan and Prime Minister Imran Khan will announce both the schemes.

The interior minister, who got inoculated against coronavirus, said that he took the jab because there was a lot of misinformation about the Chinese vaccines. Rasheed also prayed for the early recovery of all coronavirus patients including Prime Minister Imran Khan and his wife.