Imran may announce date of long march next week: Rashid

RAWALPINDI:

Awami Muslim League (AML) chief and former interior minister Sheikh Rashid on Sunday said after the by-elections, PTI chairman and ex-premier Imran Khan was expected to announce the date of his party’s long march next week.

“Matters are moving towards a dead end. Much would become clear after October 30,” the AML chief, who is close to the PTI chairman, told journalists at a news conference in Rawalpindi.

He added that despite the placement of containers to stop the PTI’s long march there was nothing that could prevent a “revolution”.

Rashid further hoped that the Supreme Court would announce a verdict in favour of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB).

He was referring to a petition filed by the PTI chief against the incumbent government’s amendments to the accountability law.

In response to US President Joe Biden’s remarks about Pakistan's nukes, Rashid said the country’s nuclear programme was one of the safest ones in the world.

He added that the US president had raised concerns over the safety of Pakistan’s atomic programme and all that Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari had to say in response was that Biden had “casually” mentioned it.

On Thursday, Biden while speaking at a fundraiser in California, had said Pakistan might be one of the most dangerous” countries in the world that had “nuclear weapons without any cohesion”.

The White House issued the transcript of his entire speech on Saturday, sparking outrage in Pakistan.

The former interior minister predicted that the government’s time was up.
Referring to the long march, Rashid said the army would not fire gunshots at its own people.

“No matter how many videos and audio recordings they [current rulers] bring up, nothing would affect Imran,” he added.

He further said even at this stage of his age, he was standing with Imran and so was a major chunk of the country’s population.

The former minister maintained that there was a global conspiracy to spread religious chaos in Pakistan.

“I tell [Prime Minister] Shehbaz Sharif that the nation will not stand with you for any ‘irresponsible’ action you take on national security,” he added.

Rashid claimed that ever since Finance Minister Ishaq Dar had returned to the country, he had already spent $1 billion.

He added that there was no money in the national exchequer to pay the salaries of government employees.

The former minister quipped that PM Shehbaz was having special prayers conducted by JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman, who himself did not believe in them.

Rashid further claimed that PML-N Vice President Maryam Nawaz would celebrate New Year in the UK.

He maintained that a gang of five robbers were running the country but they would realise by evening that their politics was over.