Former PM Abbasi wants to flee country, claims Sheikh Rashid

Reiterates claim that opposition alliance is meant to seek NRO

LAHORE: Railways Minister Sheikh Rashid has said the opposition is in great pain and wants to get rid of all the corruption cases lodged against them.

“Nawaz-Zardari alliance is nothing but an effort to seek an NRO (National Reconciliation Ordinance). There are 36 cases against the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) co-chairperson,” Rashid said while addressing a news conference on Saturday.

The minister claimed that former premier Shahid Khaqan Abbasi desired all the cases against him to be closed in a bid to flee of the country. “Few more federal ministers will be changed in the federal cabinet after Eid,” he added.

He said the opposition demand to remove the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) chairman is a way of escaping the references filed against them. Lambasting the PPP-led Sindh government over the outbreak of HIV virus, Rashid said Sindh is the only place in the world where the disease is spreading.

The railways minister maintained that he had seen Shehbaz Sharif begging for an NRO and claimed that if Shehbaz, who is currently in London, returned to the country on Eid, he would offer prayers with him.

Speaking about Modi’s victory in the Indian election, the railways ministers said Indian premier will try to weaken Pakistan from inside and that 2020 will be a tough year in the global politics. Rashid said in Iran-US row, India has sided with the United States.

The federal minister said three special trains will run on Eid while those traveling on Eid days will be given a 50 per cent discount. He said new Sir Syed Express will be launched on June 30. “Due to the busy schedule of railways, there are no vacant freight trains.”

Talking about the bailout package of the International Monetary Fund, Rashid said approaching the international money-lender was the need of the time.