Sheikh Rashid claims Nawaz linked to past controversies

LAHORE: Railways minister Sheikh Rashid on Saturday made a raft of allegations against former prime minister Nawaz Sharif linking the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo with a number of controversies that dominated the country’s news in the past.

Addressing a press conference at the Pakistan Railway headquarters, Rashid asked Sharif to reveal “how many meetings he (Sharif) had with Osama bin Laden and how much funds had he received from bin Laden?”

He also asked who shared the address of Ajmal Qassab with a foreign news agency and “who invited Indian prime minister Modi to Raiwind?” The minister said who gave authority to Nawaz Sharif to talk with Modi from outside of the country.

Rashid also asked from Nawaz Sharif “who and where had it been planned to attack on the Supreme Court building” and “who arranged buses for attackers from Lahore for Islamabad to attack on the Supreme Court in the presence of the then chief justice Sajjad Ali Shah?”

“Who fled from the court’s verdicts by malingering illness”? he said, and called on Sharif to reveal “who was behind the Dawn Leaks and why did he first disown and then accepted the leaks”.

Rashid said: “How much money did Nawaz Sharif spend on the 2013 elections and how much funds were received by him from Qatar through Saifur Rehman?”

The minister further asked the PML-N leader “is it not true that the planning of hurling stones at NAB (National Accountability Bureau) was managed from London?”

Rashid also asked Sharif to reveal who issued the letter with fake signatures through Husain Haqqani for character assassination of the late Benazir Bhutto?

The railways minister said he was not a spokesperson for any institution, though it was an honour to speak in favour of the most prestigious institutions of the country.

“There is nothing wrong in meeting with Chief of Army Staff Qamar Javed Bajwa as he is a much respected personality of the country,” he said.