RAWALPINDI: Awami Muslim League chief and former federal interior minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed has said that the People and state are synonymous; if masses are peaceful and prosperous, the country will be peaceful.
He published a video message, on the occasion of Independence Day on Sunday. “I have been celebrating Independence Day for the last 50 years. I always address people on August 13 between 10 pm and 11 pm. Police raided Lal Haveli last night and took away fireworks and loud speakers. I have not seen such a big police operation in my life,” Rashid said in his message.
He said “is it our crime that we are marking the day for those martyrs, Ghazi and Mujahideen who laid down their lives to win freedom.”
If someone disagreed with him on celebrating Independence Day, he should talk to him. “This [Independence Day celebration] is not a protest rally,” he continued.
The former federal minister asked the people of Rawalpindi to be ready. “Instead of Lal Haveli, we will hold a rally at Raja Bazar, Committee Chowk or Chandni Chowk. We will try our best to pay our respects to our martyrs, Ghazi, Mujahideen and the founders of Pakistan and companions of the Quaid-i-Azam.”
He said that the police conducted a grand operation on the houses of my brothers, sisters and nephews at Lal Haveli last night. They took away valuables from home, mobile phones, laptops, cameras, and employees including drivers. They removed all the dividers around Lal Haveli. There had been three suicide attempts on me. If any terrorist incident happened, the current rulers would be responsible for it, he added.
The head of Awami Muslim League said mere rhetoric could not bring “external, internal, linguistic, economic, social and political stability.”
“Inflation is killing. Do not violate the law. We also condemn the May 9 events. We are of noble ancestry. We stand with Pakistan and Islam. We remain friends till the last breath of life,” Rashid concluded.
Earlier, Sheikh Rashid – the chief of his own faction of Muslim League – said on Saturday the name of the caretaker prime minister had been finalised, describing the ongoing talks as a drama staged for media consumption.
In a statement posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, the former interior minister said the 16-month tenure of the coalition government was the darkest period of Pakistan’s history. The poor had been [economically] murdered and were unable to buy food or pay children’s fees, he said, adding that incidents of looting were common in the cities with a civil war-like situation, the AML head opined. –Agencies
