Army guarantor of democracy: Sh Rashid

LAHORE: Railways Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmad Saturday said Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N) statements against the state institutions were part of an international agenda as the statement given by Ayaz Sadiq was celebrated in India.

Talking to the media at Railways headquarters here he said the opposition was prioritising politics over state [institutions] and warned that results of a fight with state would be dangerous.

The seeds sown by former prime minister Nawaz Sharif would only create more problems, added Sheikh Rashid. He said, “Political situation was worsening and the results of the current situation would not be good.”

He said tolerance shown by the state institutions was praiseworthy, but the opposition did not realise where politics of the country were heading.

The federal minister said that neither Prime Minister Imran Khan was going anywhere nor there were any chances of a martial law in the country. He predicted that Imran Khan would successfully deal with all crises in the country and complete his tenure.

Sh Rashid praised politics by Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), adding that politics of Maulana Fazlur Rehman were not very important for the country. He said, “Maulana Fazlur Rehman has the power of madrasas, but he is dependent on big political parties. However, the PPP is playing smart.”

The minister said: “At this point in time, anything can happen in politics.”

He said there was always space for dialogue in politics and even PM Imran Khan had not refused talks. “Doors on negotiations are never closed. If the PPP and the PML-N can unite, so can other parties.”

Sh Rashid said, “I could not understand why Nawaz Sharif launched Ayaz Sadiq, who had been silent in the last two-and-a-half years,” he said. “This is all happening as per Nawaz and Maryam’s instructions.

He said Nawaz Sharif launched Ayaz Sadiq to thwart any chances of a dialogue with the ruling party, as Shahid Khaqan Abbasi had given a statement welcoming any dialogue process with the government.

He said Ayaz Sadiq’s comments had saddened and hurt the armed forces. “Our soldiers and generals are both respectable.”

The federal minister recalled that Nawaz Sharif appointed six army chiefs as the prime minister of the country and he quarrelled with all of them later on. He said the PML-N was following a foreign agenda, which was damaging for the country and the DG ISPR also made it clear that their agenda was creating anxiety in the forces.

He said that Pakistan Army was a guarantee of solidarity of the country as well as the democratic system in the country even in the current political and sensitive situation. He said that a dangerous language was being used against the generals and jawans of the forces which was unacceptable as a sensible person could never utter a word against his army.

However, he ruled out the chance of a martial law or presidential system in the country. He said the period between Nov 1 to Dec 31 was important and the situation would be cleared by Feb 20, 2021.

He said that if confrontation was with the politicians, then Prime Minister Imran Khan was standing in front of the opponents, and if you wanted to fight against the state, then the results would be dangerous as fight in politics was right of the politicians but fight against the state was not right of the politicians.