ISLAMABAD: Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid claimed that there was a deadlock as far as the opposition parties’ plan to table a no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Imran Khan in the National Assembly (NA) was concerned. Addressing a news conference in Islamabad on Sunday, the interior minister said that on one hand, the opposition wanted to bring a no-trust move but on the other, it wanted to hold a sit-in in Islamabad.

He said that opposition parties are only interested to protect their own vested agendas. He said political parties trying to create chaos in the country would have to face a defeat, eventually.

The minister said that the opposition was indecisive about the no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Imran Khan. He said they cannot decide whether they wanted to bring a motion against the National Assembly speaker, Senate Chairman, Punjab Chief Minister or the Prime Minister.

He claimed that there was infighting among the opposition parties over potential “spoils” of the no-trust move.

Speaking about the opposition’s efforts to dislodge the government, the Minister questioned: “How much trust do opposition leaders have in each other?” “Those who were not willing to see each other’s faces are now meeting in the dead of the night. The PTI government fully trusted its allies despite the opposition’s efforts to convince them to support the no-trust move,” he said.

The Interior Minister said that the federal government would give full security to the long march taken out by the opposition and would not create hurdles to stop their rally.

Opposition poses no threat to govt: Sheikh Rashid

The Minister said that he met the Punjab Chief Minister and decided that there would be no action against the opposition parties’ ‘long march’ and the government will “take good care of them”.

He said the opposition was playing a game of ‘kabbadi’, adding that the Prime Minister will win the no-trust move against the opposition and will emerge stronger.

Speaking about the Afghan government, the interior minister said the ruling PTI government would help the Afghan Taliban meet their challenges. A delegation will visit Afghanistan on Monday to discuss ties with the Taliban, he said.

He said that the government would establish 13 new passport offices across the country along with 88 new offices of NADRA to facilitate the public. Responding to a question, Sheikh Rashid Ahmed said investigation in the Noor Mukadam case was unprecedented and Islamabad Police deserves appreciation.

Answering another question, he disclosed that Pakistan was again in talks with the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) for peace. He said that it was after 24 years that the Australian cricket team was touring Pakistan. “And in order to ensure their protection, we are offering them security of a state-level,” he added.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022

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