When Nawaz falls ill, bids made to take him abroad: Rashid

LAHORE: The Railways Minister, Sheikh Rashid, said the government would implement the courts orders about Nawaz Sharif and JUI-F march in letter and spirit. He said whenever Nawaz Sharif fell ill, attempts are made to take him abroad.

He said the permission for the so-called Azadi march of opposition parties is dependent on the Supreme Court orders and the government will abide by the court orders.

While addressing a press conference at the Railway Headquarters here on Friday, he said the people heading towards Raiwind Ijtema (gathering) are those willingto serve Islam, whereas Maulana Fazlur Rehman is departing for Islamabad to “create anarchy”.

The minister said Prime Minister Imran would complete his tenure and the country would achieve prosperity and development targets under his leadership.

“The government is ready to provide face-saving to Azadi-march participants on the Supreme Court orders, which will be respected. However, the law will take its course if the SC directions are violated.” Sh Rashid alleged that Fazlur Rehman is deceiving the other two opposition parties. He claimed that the politics of the two opposition parties is for all purposes finished. “According to my sources a decision will be made by Nov 9 against what Maulana is planning to do,” he said.

While providing details about the MainLine-1 (ML-1) project, the railway minister said the government would commence work on the project which would create 100,000 jobs. He said that 872-km lines had been included in PC-1 planning and development work on ML-1 would start next year. He said the ministry has increased the salaries of railway police by up to 50 per cent. He announced that a Safari Train would be inaugurated from Nov 10, 2019 via Golra Sharif. He said the Fast Track Access Policy is being announced shortly by Prime Minister Imran Khan at the Railway Headquarters in Lahore soon. “138 passenger trains and 16 freight trains are running in the country while the ministry has allowed private companies to use railway tracks,” he added.

Sh Rashid prayed for the early recovery of Mian Nawaz Sharif. “Prime Minister Imran Khan has directed Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar to provide all medical facilities to Nawaz Sharif,” the minister said. He said health issues should not be politicised. However, he claimed that politics of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan People’s Party had come to an end. The minister said former president Asif Ali Zardari’s health condition is more critical than Nawaz Sharif’s. “I had suggested to Imran Khan to let them go and get rid of the problem,” he said and added, but "Prime Minister Imran Khan has refused to give any NRO to the corrupt politicians.” However, Rashid reiterated that ‘miser’ Nawaz Sharif would not return the plundered money, but negotiations could be held with Asif Ali Zardari. Sh Rashid dubbed Shahbaz Sharif a bigger thief than Nawaz.

He said the opposition's outcry was not for democracy but freedom of their corrupt leaders. He hoped that Prime Minister Imran Khan’s government would successfully overcome the current political challenges and he would complete his constitutional tenure.