Rashid offers more Rangers at Sindh’s request

Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid said on Tuesday the government was ready to deploy more Rangers in Karachi to curb the rising incidents of street crime in the metropolis on the request of the Sindh government, warning that the law and order situation in the metropolis was not good.

Addressing a press conference in Islamabad, the minister said that the opposition would fail in its efforts to dislodge the government, but urged Prime Minister Imran Khan to mend ties with disgruntled party leader Jahangir Tareen.

On the rising street crimes in Karachi, Rashid expressed concerns, saying that the deteriorating law and order situation in the metropolis could have “consequences”. He added that the federal government was ready to provide more Rangers to the Sindh government to control the situation.

“If Sindh government makes the request as per the Constitution, we are ready to deploy Rangers even in police stations for maintenance of law and order in Karachi,” the minister said. “If [Sindh] Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah asks us for any [further] assistance, we are willing to provide it,” he added.

Rashid advised the prime minister to mend ties with Tareen, amid opposition’s efforts to oust the government through a no-confidence vote. “I hope Jahangir Tareen will act responsibly since he is a seasoned politician and in my personnel opinion there is no harm in engaging with him,” he remarked.

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Rashid emphasised that politicians “never shut doors” on their opponents. He also cited an example of the recent meeting between the top leadership of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the PML-Q leadership after a hiatus of 14 years.

Responding to a question about the opposition’s plan for a no-confidence motion, Rashid said that Prime Minister Imran would emerge victorious in this political battle and the opposition would face embarrassment like before.

“It will be the job of the opposition parties to show support of 172 members in the National Assembly to pass the no-confidence motion,” he said. “After failing to do so they will make excuses such as they were [pressured through] ‘phone calls’ or their members contracted coronavirus,” he quipped.

About the proposed long marches announced by the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), Rashid said that even if the opposition came to Islamabad with great enthusiasm, it would not get anything.

The opposition will not come [to Islamabad] on March 23,” he said. “[But] if it does, it will fail. If the opposition has hidden its cards, then Prime Minister Imran Khan also keeps his cards close to his chest,” he added.

When asked about the meetings between the opposition leaders, the minister said that nothing would come out of these meetings. “The opposition is trapped. If it does not bring the no-confidence motion, it will be embarrassed and if it tables the motion, it will be embarrassed by its outcome,” he added.

“There is only one year left in the election. The opposition is heading towards anarchy, which could lead to a political incident,” the minister warned. “Chaos would ultimately catch them by the collar,” he added.

(With input from APP)