Opposition's 'game is up', APC bound to fail: Sheikh Rashid

Federal Minister for Railways, Sheikh Rashid reiterated his claim on Thursday that the Opposition’s "game is up", saying their upcoming All Parties Conference (APC) is bound to fail.

“They will announce [anti-government] public rallies on September 20,” Sheikh predicted, speaking in Geo News' current affairs programme ‘Aaj Shahzeb Khanzada Kay Sath’. “However, the country or the government faces no threat from the opposition. Instead, it is the sectarian strife that poses a real threat.”

The sectarian issue, he said, is being stoked by "international players", including Indian agencies, adding that a large group that aimed to kill religious scholars was rounded up.

Warning of dangers posed to the country, Rashid said that seeing as Pakistan has steered clear of several crises, including locusts and the COVID-19 pandemic, international forces are bent upon strangulating the country and they will attempt to do this by stirring up sectarian violence.

Half of the world is against the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and Indian television channels are increasing the frenzy of war against China, he said. But, they will inflict war on us, cautioned the minister.

He pointed out how the Opposition’s 38 members did not show up in the joint session that passed three anti-money-laundering bills. Some of them turned up after the voting was over according to their planning, he alleged.

Pakistan was placed in the FATF grey list in June 2018, Sheikh said, adding that the country is all set to make it to the white list, which will be beneficial for Pakistan.

Rashid said that it is due to the foolishness of the Opposition parties that the government succeeded in passing some other bills that may not have gone through under normal circumstances.

“When they staged a walkout from the House as per their 'master plan' they literally gave us a clean chit to do as we wish,” he said.

Sheikh said Prime Minister Imran Khan has made up his mind not to give the NRO to the Opposition and that NAB laws wouldn’t be amended at all.

In response to a question, he suggested holding general elections in Pakistan every four years.