LAHORE: Railway Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed has said JUI-F Chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman will be “nabbed” if he comes to Islamabad again with an intention of staging a sit-in there.

He also quoted a Supreme Court observation saying it expressed satisfaction over the Pakistan Railways’ performance after the authorities submitted a business plan during the last hearing.

Referring to JUI-F chief’s statement in which he had said that he was given an assurance before ending his last sit-in at the federal capital that the prime minister would resign and fresh election would be held within three months, Rashid said.

“As far as the statement of Maulana Fazl is concerned, the Article 6 [of the Constitution] can be imposed on him. But, I am not in favour of imposing Article 6 on him given his [Fazl’s] age.”

Rashid was responding to journalists queries at a press conference held here at the PR headquarters on Saturday.

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“I think he (Maulana) should be captured. And if he has an intention of holding a sit-in again, he will be nabbed. And this time he will be made an official guest,”the minister said. About the recent developments related to the PR in the Supreme Court, the minister said the authorities submitted a detailed and comprehensive business plan to the apex court.

“This time, the court expressed satisfaction over the PR’s performance after we submitted our business plan,” he maintained.

He was of the view that those planning an anti-government move in March would not be given a “soft treatment” since the country was passing through a tough situation that emerged after coronavirus outbreak in China. He claimed the situation in China was also affecting Pakistan’s economy.

He also claimed that the government would never accept IMF condition of increasing power tariff.

Talking about Karachi circular rail, he said it was the job of Sindh government and the Rangers to clear the KCR track by removing encroachments falling in 50-feet area on its both sides.

The minister said Jahangir Tareen and Khusro Bakhtiar were not behind the wheat flour and sugar crises.

“The report submitted to the PM, doesn’t carry the names of Jahangir Tareen or Khusro Bakhtiar,” he added, claiming that the security institutions stood by the PM Imran Khan who would complete his term in office.

Published in Dawn, February 16th, 2020