Home Latest News Sheikh Rashid Hints at Early Elections as No-Trust Vote Nears

Sheikh Rashid Hints at Early Elections as No-Trust Vote Nears

by Staff Report

Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed. Courtesy PID

Interior minister maintains that P.M. Imran Khan will defeat opposition’s motion, adding no one in the government is going anywhere

Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed on Thursday hinted at the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)-led government calling for early elections, as he advised dissident lawmakers of the ruling party against switching parties to remain “respectable.”

Addressing a press conference in Islamabad, he said that turncoats should note that they would not win any respect for switching parties. “Turncoats must remember that early elections can also be called in the country,” he said, adding that “genuine” people tend to stay with their parties and with democracy.

Claiming that people would start getting “good news” about the government from now onwards, he also responded to a question on when the government’s coalition partners would announce if they were supporting or opposing the no-confidence motion. “Allies generally take more time in taking decisions,” he said and vowed that “nobody is going anywhere.”

To a question on reports that Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar had already tendered his resignation with the prime minister, Rashid said this was not true. “He [Buzdar] is also not going anywhere,” he said. The Jahangir Khan Tareen-led forward bloc of the PTI has been consistently demanding that the PTI oust Buzdar, accusing him of poor governance and corruption. However, the prime minister has thus far refused to accept this demand.

Responding to another question, the interior minister said “no one is going to be sacked or removed. All three will continue with Imran Khan.” While he did not clarify who he was referring to, he followed up by saying he had instructed the Federal Investigation Agency to “destroy those [damaging] the Army’s respect” on social media, suggesting he was alluding to rumors that the prime minister might opt to replace the Army chief in the coming days. “The Pakistan Army is great,” he said. “The establishment stands with Pakistan,” he added.

Big mistake

Rashid claimed the opposition had made a “huge blunder” by turning against the prime minister and elevating him into a “hero” in the final year of the PTI-led government. “We were fighting inflation and unemployment; now people have forgotten that and are standing with Imran Khan,” he claimed, adding that “nothing is final in politics” and the matter would not be decided until the no-trust motion was voted upon “within the next 10 days.” He said it was up to NA Speaker Asad Qaiser to decide when the voting on the no-trust motion would take place.

To a question on the government’s claims of having the support of “some” members of the opposition, he said that their identity would become clear when they did not attend the NA session to vote on the no-trust motion. “We have the support of Opposition members who are responsible,” he claimed.

The minister reiterated the PTI’s claims of the prime minister organizing an “historic” rally in Islamabad on March 27, claiming it would display public support for Khan. Referring to the Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz)’s “long march” on Islamabad, Rashid said the opposition party needed to provide authorities with their schedule so any “untoward” incident could be avoided. However, he stressed, no one would be allowed to take the law into their own hands.

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