Awami Muslim League (AML) President Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed on Friday clarified that the proposed fight as suggested by the former prime minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan was not against the military, the establishment or the bureaucracy.
Addressing the media outside Lal Haveli in Rawalpindi on Friday, Ahmed said that they were fighting against a democracy that ousted Imran Khan from power over two votes in the darkness of the night.
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Returning to Lal Haveli after spending 15 days in jail, Awami Muslim League (AML) President Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed on Friday warned the police to return items seized from his home by Sunday evening or else he will lodge a case of theft against them.
He also took a swipe at the government, including Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Senior Vice President and Chief Organizer Maryam Nawaz.
Ahemd said that Shehbaz had gone to Turkiye to provide the earthquake affectees with tents. But these were not new tents, Ahmed claimed, adding that Shehbaz was only returning the tents that had arrived from Turkiye in the aftermath of the floods and calling it Pakistan’s contribution.
On Maryam Nawaz, he referred to her statement where she had all but disowned the incumbent government and its actions.
“No one buys your narrative even in your family,” he stated.
Taking aim at Federal Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, Ahmed called him ‘Dracula’, stating that when he returned to the country, he had promised to bring the price of the US dollar to Rs200.
“You couldn’t do that no matter what,” Ahmed said.
The AML president again targeted Zardari and Bilawal, accusing them of being the most corrupt and of being thieves.
“The biggest political thief is called Zardari,” he said, adding that Bilawal (referred to as Billorani) was not returning to Pakistan because he knew Ahmed was waiting for him there.
On the allegations that Zardari had hired assassins, due to which Ahmed spent 15 days in jail, the AML chief said that he was told this by Imran Khan.
He lamented that nothing happened to Imran Khan, but he was apprehended.
He also accused the coalition government of amassing ministers, advisors and special assistants, with the federal cabinet swelling to 88 members who have been imposed on the nation.
“The flag you are all waving, don’t forget there is a stick on which it is mounted,” he warned cryptically.
Lamenting inflation he said that no one had imagined that staples such as oil, flour and sugar would cost what it does today.
“Today, people are hanging themselves in jail.”
Reiterating that he has complete ownership of Lal Haveli, Ahmed said that all those parts of the property which were encroached upon were retrieved and were dedicated to the education of girls.
In one of his famous predictions (which has never really come true), Ahmed foresaw a civil war in April.
“The country is heading towards famine, people will start looting shops,” he said, asking rhetorically, “Who will look at Shehabaz Sharif’s hat now?”
If you will wait for elections, shops will be looted, throats will be slit and the entire country will become one big jail, he said.
Ahmed conceded having held meetings with “important people,” adding that he told them that he would back Imran Khan as long as he remains at war with the corrupt and thieves.
On his case and arrest, Ahmed said that if he issues directions, his followers would swarm and capture the jail.
On the subject of poor economy, he said that the reason for the USSR’s disintegration was that its economy fell apart.
“We have just $3 billion left in our reserves,” he lamented, adding that some 10,000 containers are stuck at the ports.
“The poor can’t find work,” he said.
Claiming to have learned from reliable sources, Ahmed claimed that the government wants to hold polls in the center and the provinces at the same time.
“They can’t compete with Imran Khan in the polls and want to put him behind bars, and disqualify him,” he said.
The army, establishment and all stakeholders need to come together and ensure elections take place.
He warned that despite resuming the extended fund facility program with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) the sword of default remains dangling over the national economy.
