Islamabad [Pakistan]: While mocking the Pakistani government for its inablity to pull the country out of an economic mess, Pakistan’s former Interior Minister Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed drew parallel saying that the government is zero and former Prime Minister Imran Khan has become a hero.
In his tweet on Sunday he also took a jibe at the PML-N Chief Nawaz Sharif. “The decision on the no-confidence motion was made in London. The same Nawaz Sharif is now talking about leaving the government,” he tweeted while criticising the former premier. The former minister also cited the high infation in the country while condemning Nawaz Sharif. He wrote that Pakistan was in an “economic jam”, adding that people cannot afford to pay utility bills, along with a fixed tax.
The Awami Muslim League chief also stated that the coalition government “just keeps holding ineffective press conferences,” while Khan has “taken over” merely through a brief campaign, reported The News International
This came in the wake of a landslide victory of PTI in the Punjab bypolls.
“The government is at zero, while he [Imran Khan] has become a hero,” Rasheed wrote on Twitter. In another tweet directed at the lack of monetary support from Pakistan’s friendly nations, Rasheed wrote that “neither China, Dubai, Qatar nor Saudi Arabia helped Pakistan this time”, he said, adding that the country has also failed to secure funds under the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) bailout programme.
“China has extreme reservations regarding the US conditions for the aid, while [Pakistan is left with] reserves enough for only 45 days instead of 90 days,” the politician added.
Earlier Rasheed had said that the government is targeting journalists in the country.
Popular news anchor Imran Riaz Khan was arrested near the outskirts of Islamabad, hours after he claimed that his life was under threat. Khan was heading to Islamabad when he was arrested in connection with a treason case registered against him in Attock, Pakistan’s Dawn reported.
Khan is a vocal critic of the government led by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, and is a supporter of former Prime Minister Imran Khan, who was ousted from power in April and is not related to the journalist, according to CPJ reporting and The Express Tribune.
Khan’s case is among several cases that have been lodged against journalists in Pakistan for allegedly spreading hate against the army and state institutions. This latest arrest comes in the backdrop of a growing crackdown on journalists in Pakistan.
Further, senior journalist and former parliamentarian Ayaz Amir was also assaulted by unknown persons.
Pakistan is one of the world’s deadliest countries for journalists, with three to four murders each year that are often linked to cases of corruption or illegal trafficking and which go completely unpunished, according to Reporters Without Borders. (ANI)