Democracy under threat from corrupt politicians: Sheikh Rasheed

LAHORE: Federal Minister for Railways Sheikh Rasheed on Saturday said that democracy in Pakistan is not facing any threat but from corrupt politicians who are uselessly crying foul over accountability, ARY News reported.

Addressing a press conference, the minister said that corrupt politicians have no future and the government is not threatened by their designs to bring an in-house change in Senate.

“What effect would it have on country’s politics even if they succeed in changing Senate chairman,” said Rasheed.

The minister was of the view that their (corrupt politicians) politics is dead and their protests will not in anyway affect the accountability process.

“Everyone who is crying foul will soon be in jail, mark my words, Captain (PM Imran Khan) has started batting and the coming 90 days are really important for country’s politics,” said Sheikh Rasheed.

Answering questions about Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) president Shehbaz Sharif, party’s provincial head Rana Sanaullah and former PM Nawaz Sharif’s daughter Maryam Nawaz, Rasheed said that Shehbaz Sharif is between a rock and a hard place as on one hand he has a party and his son Hamza’s political future and on the other hand he has to deal with Maryam’s incendiary politics.

About Maryam Nawaz Sharif and her planned rally in Mandi Bahauddin, Rasheed said that her politics is the reason PML-N and her father Nawaz Sharif’s politics has suffered.

“She (Maryam Nawaz) has no future in politics so she can play ‘jalsa jalsa’,” Sheikh Rasheed quipped.

About Rana Sanaullah, he avoided the question and only remarked that “Uske Chehray Pay Bra Noor Hai” (He has a lot of divine light on his face).

The minister also claimed that a number of PML-N MPAs from Punjab are in contact with the government and the country may see a forward bloc soon in Punjab Assembly.