Rashid addressed several key issues in governnace, praised judiciary for decision in reserved seats
Mehtab Pirzada
RAWALPINDI: Former federal minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed on Monday urged the rulers to save the country even at the cost of his life.
Talking to media outside Adiala Jail on Monday, the head of Awami Muslim League drew the attention of the rulers towards the political and economic turmoil in the country. He said the country is going to be that of Kenya.
“Watch the situation in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan. People are cursing the government. For God’s sake, save the country. Hang us by cranes; punish us, but save the country,” he made a fervent appeal to the rulers.
He once again sought general amnesty from the establishment in the country.
He said as a minister he pardoned people [during his five-year term]. There are 686 cases registered against him; if hearing in one case take a week, it would take more than 10 years to end cases, he added.
The disgruntled leader said it would have been better if he was sentenced to two-year term.
Commenting on the arrest of PTI’s Sanam Javed immediately after her release on Sunday, Rashid said she was taken into custody from the lawyer’s chamber. “The police tarnish their image and violate the dignity of people [by acting against the law],” he added.
He said that the [political] situation and the economy is in a shambles. The government is continuously raising rates of electricity. “Do you want to plunge the country into chaos where people fight with each other [for petty things]?” he asked the rulers.
“You are pushing the country to the brink that it will not be managed [by anyone],” Rashid continued.
Rashid said that the government is unable to manage economy. Nawaz Sharif will give a new narrative that will be humiliating for the masses. People are dying of heat but no one bothers, he stated.
He said 77 lakh people have submitted application for getting passports to leave the country. These are those people who have invested in the country.
The government has also banned fresh recruitments in the state departments, he claimed.
Talking about the re-arrest of PTI founder Imran Khan, Rashid said that they would not let him out. They say daily that he is coming, but he is not.
He said he cannot predict when Imran will be set free.
He repeated his claim that there is one grave and three bodies. The future of Nawaz and Shehbaz will also be decided soon. One will run to the east and the other to the west, he quipped.
Rashid was all praise for judiciary for its decision on reserved seats for the PTI. “I salute the judiciary. They took a historic decision on reserved seats. It is hoped that the judiciary will play a historic role in saving the country.”
