Have suggested mass resignations to PM Imran as 'last option': Sheikh Rashid

Published
81
Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid speaks to the media in Islamabad. — DawnNewsTV
Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid speaks to the media in Islamabad. — DawnNewsTV

Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid said on Friday that he had told Prime Minister Imran Khan that "mass resignations" were the "last option" left for the government.

The minister's remarks came a day after the Supreme Court set aside National Assembly Deputy Speaker Qasim Suri's April 3 ruling which dismissed the no-trust resolution against the premier and the subsequent dissolution of the NA by the president on the PM's advice.

Speaking to the media in Islamabad, he said "a wave of disappointment has taken over the nation after the decision".

He said that the sentiment among the people was that a conspiracy was under way to bring those involved in corruption to power.

"But if someone believes that we are laying down our weapons, have no [misconceptions]," he said. "We will fight till our last breath against these thugs, robbers and looters," he added, referring to the opposition.

He then told media persons that yesterday he had told PM Imran that "we should all resign" as this was the "last option" because the country would not be able to function with "robbers and thugs" at the helm.

"I had suggested [submitting] resignations three months ago as I knew what the issues were," Rashid said without elaborating further.

"I was right in saying that we should resign and hold new elections. I was right when I said impose an emergency and I was right when I said to impose governer's rule.

"And I say this today as well that we all should resign together [...] and expose their (the opposition's) real faces to the nation."

The minister said opposition parties would destroy the country's "independent foreign policy".

He followed up on this claim with a cryptic remark, saying: "If there is anyone who believes that people don't understand what has happened, how it has happened and who did it, [understand that] the people know everything."

At the outset of his media talk, the minister, without naming anyone, had implied that "big powers" were behind the no-trust motion against PM Imran.

"This is how big powers execute a no-confidence motion. They buy people. They use health as an excuse and help robbers and thugs flee the country," he said. "Now you will see that all of them will return."

"Foreign powers, who want to impose their mentality in Pakistan, curb our freedom and put an end to our neutrality, will be defeated," he said.

He went on to say that in this case — seemingly an allusion to events that unfolded following the submission of the no-trust motion against PM Imran — "all forces have been exposed".

This, the minister said, was the real issue.

Opinion

Editorial

Kashmir unresolved
Updated 30 Sep, 2026

Kashmir unresolved

The just solution lies in India addressing the issue through a trilateral dialogue involving the legitimate representatives of the Kashmiri people and Pakistan.
Water shortage
30 Sep, 2026

Water shortage

THAT the country is entering the Rabi season with an anticipated water shortage of nearly 25pc, the lowest carryover...
Young hearts
30 Sep, 2026

Young hearts

THE observance may have passed, but the message of World Heart Day should not fade with it. The occasion is a useful...
Terror and politics
Updated 29 Sep, 2026

Terror and politics

There is an urgent need to tone down the rhetoric and tackle terrorism as a collective challenge for both the affected provinces and the federation.
Watching the glaciers
29 Sep, 2026

Watching the glaciers

THE latest signs from Pakistan’s mountains are worrying. Suparco says the number of unfrozen glacial lakes it...
Dangerous agenda
29 Sep, 2026

Dangerous agenda

AS the world remains fixated on the US-Iran conflict, elsewhere in the Middle East, Israel is consolidating its grip...