RAWALPINDI: Former interior minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed on Friday said instead of helping the flood victims, the Sharif brothers were going to meet abroad to decide about their political future.

He said the countdown against the federal government will start on January 9 and end in April.

He said those who looted the national exchequer in the name of ‘Paparwala and Falooda wala’ were looting money in the name of disabled persons in Sindh. He said the statements of the foreign minister and the interior minister were adding fuel to the fire.

In his address to the participants of a rally at Lal Haveli and in his tweet, Mr Ahmed said: “I am giving my first speech from Lal Haveli in the new year.”

He said when he appears on the electronic media, his opponents change the TV channel. “They are trying to kill Imran Khan by slow poisoning,” he claimed.

“Imran Khan will dissolve the provincial assemblies otherwise he will ask his party members to resign from the assemblies,” he said and added that Mr Khan had made it clear that we will not sit in the parliament where “thieves and dacoits” were sitting. “May Allah rid the country of these thieves,” he said.

The former minister said his Awami Muslim League will enter the next elections with Imran Khan.

‘Today’s politics is with Imran Khan. Rulers should bring their foreign accounts back to Pakistan for the sake of national security,“ he said.

Mr Ahmed said the government failed to deliver and made the lives of people miserable.

He said it was difficult for the citizens to purchase edibles, pay utility bills and spend money on education of their children. He said the government was busy in making money while increasing prices of wheat flour, sugar and vegetable oil.

Meanwhile, the former interior minister and Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) workers and supporters brought out a rally against price hike.

The rally participants marched from Lal Haveli to Fawara Chowk led by the former interior minister and his nephew Sheikh Rashid Shafique.

The participants were carrying party flags and chanting slogans against the PDM government and in favour of Imran Khan.

After reaching Fawara Chowk, the participants dispersed peacefully. Due to the rally, gridlock was witnessed on Murree Road and adjoining slip roads.

Published in Dawn, january 7th, 2023