My resignation won’t make a big difference in national politics: Sheikh Rashid

AML chief says Shehbaz Sharif is the bigger thief than Nawaz Sharif

In a not-so-surpising move, Awami Muslim League (AML) Chief Sheik Rashid Ahmed has said the issue of his resignation as an MNA had died down and will no longer be able to make any significant impact on the country’s political landscape.

Addressing a news conference is Islamabad on Tuesday, he said despite being ready to tender his resignation as a member of the National Assembly, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan had refrained him from doing so for a week, Express News reported.

“I went to Dubai for fundraising on Imran Khan’s directives, but the issue was blown out of proportion,” he said in response to queries regarding his recent trip to the United Arab Emirates (UAE).



“I am a politician, not a goon,” he remarked, adding that the government’s every action against him will be reciprocated.

Commenting on Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, Rashid said the former himself called him his fan. “And I say to him that I am your fan,” he added.

The AML chief went on to say that he regretted the recent spat between two former ministers of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) - Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan and Pervaiz Rashid. “Who would have thought that Chaudhry Nisar will be ridiculed by Pervaiz Rashid,” he said.

Criticising Punjab Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif, the AML chief said that even blinds knew who was involved in Ashiana Housing scam.



“Today, I categorically call Shehbaz Sharif the bigger thief than Nawaz Sharif,” he remarked.

The AML chief in his fiery speech at The Mall in Lahore on January 17 had announced tendering his resignation as a lawmaker while the PTI chief had said he cursed the current parliament that “has violated very basic principles of democracy by voting in support of the corrupt Sharifs”.

Resolutions condemning the anti-parliamentary language used by the two leaders were later passed by the National and Sindh assemblies.