PPP Was Never A Product Of The Establishment: Sheikh Rasheed

Interior Minister says govt wants positive talks on issues but not on corruption cases | Shehbaz Sharif always supports the way of talks | Directs FIA not to include anymore name in ECL ISLAMABAD - Minister for Interior Sheikh Rasheed Ahmad Wednesday said that the opposition’s threat of giving resignations from assemblies would only prove “a sparkler and not a political atomic bomb.” “I am sure that the threat of Bilawal Bhutto Zardari that Opposition’s resignations are an atom bomb will only be a sparkler because PPP believes in democratic process,” the minister said while talking to the reporters at the FIA Headquarters here following his maiden visit there after taking the charge of Ministry of Interior. Sheikh Rasheed was referring to the remarks of Chairman PPP Bilawal he had given a day before following his meeting with Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Shehbaz Sharif in Lahore’s Kot Lakhpath Jail. He had said that opposition’s resignations were like their atom bombs and the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) would finalize the stagey on how to use these. The interior minister said that PPP was never a product of the establishment and it always supported democratic process. But some other political parties who are a product of the establishment want to take an extreme step to bring the democracy towards a dead end, he added. Earlier this week, a meeting of PDM had given a deadline to Prime Minister Imran Khan to step down till January 31. The meeting had decided that all opposition lawmakers would hand over their resignations to their party chiefs till the given deadline. Sheikh Rasheed said that the opposition lawmakers would have to give their resignations to their respective party chiefs and PML-N lawmakers would submit these to Shehbaz Sharif. “I know Shehbaz always supported the way of talks and he taking positive approach would talk about moving forward the politics,” he said. “I see PPP in a better position in politics,” he said adding that he had similar wishes for Opposition Leader in the National Assembly Shehbaz. “Since this protest movement (of opposition) started, I as a political worker and interior minister understand the situation is better.” Again offering an olive branch to the opposition, the minister said that the interior ministry politically wants to make positive talks with all opposition forces. He reminded that PM Imran Khan has made it clear that the government was ready to talk on all issues despite corruption cases. He again addressing the opposition said it was free to hold its announced long march towards Islamabad even earlier than February. In the past, our 126-day long sit-in could not produce results, he said. He said that the PM had conveyed to him that let the opposition tender resignations and let them hold the long march but he was trying to find a middle ground in the given situation. Responding to the remarks of Bilawal, he had been giving statements in political rallies that time was now up for the government to hold talks, the interior minister said his remarks are mere speeches and they during their opposition days had been doing the same. #SheikhRasheedAhmad, #PDM,