Govt will be sent packing before March next year, predicts Sheikh Rasheed

OTTAWA: Awami Muslim League (AML) chief Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed has said that the Sharif family, reeling from the Panama Papers scandal, was desperate for a deal like National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) to go scot-free, but they won’t get any such deal.

Speaking to ARY News in Canada, he predicted that the incumbent government might be sent packing before March next year even before its tenure ended in May 2018.

The AML chief announced to run in next general elections along with Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan.

He once again claimed that 60 lawmakers from the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) were ready to ditch Nawaz Sharif-led party. There has been a leadership vacuum in the PML-N, he further claimed.

Sheikh Rasheed said the Sharif family had no evidence to present in court in their defense, that was why they were desperate for NRO like deal.

Earlier, he said the ruling party had inflicted huge economic losses on the economy of the country by signing Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) pact with Qatar.

The agreement was entirely aimed to benefit a bunch of few people rather to the common masses, AML Chief  claimed while addressing a press conference.

Lashing out at the ruling party, he said Sharif family and their cronies were involved in embezzling billions of the Pakistani taxpayers’ money. “Prime Minister Shahid Abbasi has been involved in the corruption of nearly Rs 200 billion [in this project],” Rashid added.