Sheikh Rasheed fears opposition rallies to spread COVID-19 in Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: Railways Minister Sheikh Rasheed Ahmad on Tuesday feared that the protests announced by the opposition parties in the country could become a major source of COVID-19 spread, ARY NEWS reported.    

“I am afraid that their rallies could become major hotspots of COVID-19 spread in the country,” he said while speaking to media after the federal cabinet meeting.

“They have staged rallies and plans more in the future but it will not serve their purpose,” he said adding that even the opposition knows about their fate and wanted to avoid it using excuses.

Sheikh Rasheed said that the cabinet has discussed the issue of bringing Nawaz Sharif back to the country and he supported the move during the meeting. “We will try our best to bring back Nawaz Sharif and present him before the court,” the railways’ minister said.

He once again reiterated that Pakistan Muslim League-S will emerge from within PML-N between 31 December to February 20. “Shehbaz Sharif has opted to go to jail to protect himself,” he claimed.

The minister further announced that he would not speak against PML-N leader Maryam Nawaz unless she chooses to speak against him.

Further speaking in a sarcastic manner, Sheikh Rasheed said that the media has created a rift between him and PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and he fears that it could lead to a break-up between them.

He further announced that the works on the Main Line-1 project will begin this week.

A day before, Federal Minister for Railways Sheikh Rasheed announced to regularise all the contractural employees of the PR before end of his tenure as minister.

Talking to media persons, ML-1 is a gamechanger project for PR, and 90pc of the employees in the project would be from the Pakistan Railways. Tender for ML-1 will be released this month.