Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmad on Saturday called on the opposition to move towards reconciliation with only a year left to the next elections.
The interior minister arrived in Quetta earlier to hold several important meetings.
Talking to the media, the minister said that only one year was to go for general elections, but the opposition leaders were going for a no-confidence motion. “They were trying to be among the ‘selected’ instead of coming into the race of being elected,” he added. Sheikh Rashid said that it would be better if the opposition leaders focused more on the elections due next year.
“It should not be the case that in their attempt to be selected, they end up having to wait for ten more years to come into action in the elections,” he said, advising the opposition to keep patience.
Sheikh Rashid said political stakeholders should move towards reconciliation as there is only “a year left to the next elections”. He expressed optimism that the attempt of the no-confidence motion would go in vain and Imran Khan would complete his tenure of five years as the premier. “Opposition will have to accept their defeat,” he said, adding that he would always stand by the premier like a rock.
The interior minister also said that he had received a complaint from JUI-F General Secretary Maulana Ghafoor Haideri regarding the PM’s verbal jibes against the joint opposition.
Reiterating his earlier statement, the interior minister said the security of the Parliament Lodges, along with the main Parliament building, will be handed over to the Frontier Corps and Punjab Rangers seven days before the non-confidence vote in the National Assembly.
“No one, including Ansarul Islam, will be allowed inside the lodges,” the minister stressed.
The interior minister further said the federal government has the power to call the Pakistan Army to maintain peace under Article 245 of the Constitution; however, that would not be required.
Later, during his visit to Headquarters Frontier Corps Balochistan (North), he commended the role of Frontier Corps (FC) Balochistan for curbing terrorism, crimes and maintaining the law and order situation in the province.
In a separate statement, Minister for Information and Broadcasting Chaudhry Fawad Hussain also urged the opposition to hold talks for the sake of democracy in the country.
He said that the ill-planned no-confidence motion of the opposition caused bitterness in politics. “Democracy is not a system of extreme divisions but based on political consensus.
It is not difficult to fight, but reconciliation is difficult later.” He said politics should not be so divisive that it should become difficult to talk to each other.
