‘Blame me’: Rashid fends off Imran’s challenges
Information Minister Pervaiz Rashid claimed on Saturday that upon his advice Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had decided to address party workers hours after the close of the May 11 polls, picking off one of four questions that PTI chief Imran Khan put to the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz a day earlier.
“I am responsible if that was a crime and I am ready to face punishment,” Rashid told a news conference.
By that time, the minister said, television channels had already announced the results of more than 120 constituencies – which clearly indicated that the PML-N was the election frontrunner.
The minister, who is also a member of the upper house, also tackled the other three questions posed by the PTI chief. Flashing a news clipping dated October 20, 2012, he said: “It was Imran himself who had asked for the appointment of judicial officers as returning officers.”
On the question of a caretaker setup, Rashid said that nominees of his party were neither appointed as caretaker premier nor as Punjab chief minister. “Najam Sethi was a nominee of the PPP over whom we had merely compromised,” he added.
The minister then referred to another news item regarding a meeting between Sethi and Imran in Islamabad and said the entire bureaucracy from the chief secretary to the peon were changed and people close to Imran and PML-Q leaders were brought in.
Responding to the allegation of rigging in 35 constituencies, the minister said there were more than 70 constituencies of National Assembly and over 100 provincial assembly seats where the PTI had not fielded its candidates. “Those who contested with the PTI ticket bagged merely 8 per cent votes on an average and this record can be verified from the Election Commission of Pakistan’s website,” he added.
“We had never lost elections from Rawalpindi and if we had to rig elections we should have done that there,” Rashid said.
The minister said that the people of Pakistan had expressed their desire through the ballot and now the government has started delivering and addressing the chronic issues of energy and extremism but Pakistan Awami Tehreek chief Dr Tahirul Qadri and Imran Khan are causing hindrances.
“We would have appreciated if Imran had criticised the government over its polices on these two issues but his political ambitions are blocking any advancement,” the minister stated.
The information minister said that the government wanted to bring an end to the politics of revenge and wanted to promote pluralism. But when he was asked why the government had allowed the Model Town clashes to take place if it desired such a policy, the minister lost his cool. “You cannot ask such questions,” the minister said as first response and then added, “An independent commission is investigating the matter and we should wait for it to submit its findings.”
For the first time, he said, a sitting government has asked its minister to resign and the chief minister removed his secretary after the incident.
He also asked Imran to divert Rs2 billion, supposedly required for PTI’s million-man march in Islamabad on August 14, for the rehabilitation of internally displaced persons (IDPs).
Published in The Express Tribune, June 29th, 2014.
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Pervez Rasheed is a like used cartridge which gets fired again & again.....
What kind of political leader is Imran Khan. Its not easy to comprehend his strategic moves besides devolving democracy and creating chaos. For the sake of argument, how can we even suppose him to be Prime Minister when his team is failing miserably in KPK. I thought his team would be the best critic opposition but he just cannot come out of the realm of defeat in Elections. There are millions of people who love Sharif brothers, not just for their current tenure but because they have done so much for this country. Yes there are loopholes and yes they might have black scars during their tenure, but how can even Imran proclaim to be better when he has nothing to prove. How can we trust a person who can't even standby his opinions and changes them with the flow of emotions.
I personally believe Imran Khan with that with time he might become a psychotic case of being self-righteous and that would be the end of him and eventually PTI. And I would not want this because I believe his impact is much more than PPP. Please supporters of PTI, save your leader and this country from democratic chaos.
Haha!! Man you weren't tough enough though. You look like you're running for the hills. DON'T! Put IK back into his place. IK said that he is not derailing democracy by holding jalsas and then called for a million man's march to topple the government in the same speech, you should have noted that and called him a hypocrite and a fool.