Imran Khan will be ultimate winner, says Sheikh Rashid

Prime Minister Imran Khan will be the ultimate winner of the ongoing political crisis, Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid said on Sunday, referring to "inside news" as political tension rises in the country.

"The opposition will not get anything regardless of the result of the no-trust motion," Rashid said while talking to reporters in Islamabad ahead of the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf's (PTI) planned rally.

The minister said that he has advised PM Imran to call elections after presenting the budget, adding that PTI's popularity had increased following the opposition's submission of a no-trust motion against the premier.

Mentioning Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) MNA Jam Abdul Karim, who is the prime accused in Nazim Jokhio murder case, he said that a "murderer" is being called back from Dubai to vote in the no-confidence motion.

The Sindh High Court on Friday granted 10-day protective bail to Jam Abdul Karim in the Nazim Jokhio murder case.

Early elections a possibility in Pakistan, Sheikh Rashid tells dissident PTI MNAs

However, the interior ministry has issued arrest warrants for Karim, which the Sindh government says amounts to interfering with the "judicial decisions."

Meanwhile, Rashid in his remarks said that the Islamabad administration has been advised to take strict action if opposition parties try to undermine the law and order situation in the capital.

To a question, if the prime minister can remove a senior official in the coming days, he said: "Imran Khan isn't that naive.

"No one is going anywhere, he said, adding: "God willing, the army chief will complete his tenure."

PM Imran shows more belligerence on eve of his ‘power show’

Rashid said that the ruling party's gathering in Islamabad later in the day will be the biggest in Pakistan's history.

PM Imran has called on the public to show support for his premiership by holding a “million-man” rally in Islamabad on March 27.

Opposition parties have also announced they will rally in support of the no-confidence vote on the same day.

With tension rising, the government has deployed thousands of police around the parliament and other important offices in the capital.

Pakistan’s next general elections are due by late 2023 but reports are making rounds that an early election might be held to defuse the looming confrontation.

No Pakistani prime minister has ever completed a full five-year term in office.