Shehbaz not in favour of resigning: Rashid

Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed, expressing hope that the leader of the opposition in the National Assembly will take better decision, has said that Shehbaz Sharif he knew was in favour of talks rather than resigning from parliament.

“The Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) should not wait till February for its long march and should come now,” the minister said while talking to the media after visiting the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) headquarters on Wednesday

“We will greet them with Kashmiri tea,” he added. On Tuesday, Sharif was quoted by the media as advising PPP Chairperson Bilawal Bhutto Zardari not to adopt a “hardline” stance by submitting resignations of the party’ lawmakers and instead opt for a dialogue with the government.

The PPP chairperson held a meeting with the PML-N president at Kot Lakhpat jail where Shehbaz has been imprisoned over corruption charges.

The PDM, earlier this week, gave an ultimatum to the government to quit by Jan 31 and warned that the opposition alliance would announce its plans for long march on the federal capital on Feb 1. The alliance had already asked its lawmakers to submit resignations to the party leadership by Dec 31.

Rashid said that the lawmakers from the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) would submit their resignations to the party president, Shehbaz Sharif. “But Shehbaz Sharif is not in favour of resigning. The Shehbaz Sharif I knew is in favour of talks. I hope he will make better decisions,” the minister said.

Responding to a question about the PDM’s ultimatum, the interior minister said: “I say, why the wait. Come now. All the roads are clear and the weather is cold. Come to Islamabad now and we will greet them with Kashmiri tea. He added Prime Minister Imran Khan would complete his five-year term.

“I can understand it better as a political worker,” he said. For the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), Rashid said that the party had democratic traditions. He also said that the interior ministry wanted to hold talks with all parties at the political level.

Earlier, the minister said that he had asked the FIA to become a people-friendly department. He told reporters that orders had been issued to recruit 2,000 people in the Cybercrime wing of the agency. The FIA has been given Rs2 billion in funds,” he added.

Responding to another question, the minister said that at present, there were 400 people on the Exit Control List (ECL) and the agency had been asked to reduce the list. “The FIA has asked the authorities not to include names in the ECL unnecessarily.”