Rulers deprived people of their livelihood in 15 months: Sheikh Rashid

RAWALPINDI (Monitoring Desk): Awami Muslim League (AML) chief and former interior minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed has said that the government not only violated the constitution and law in 15 months but also deprived the poor of their livelihood.

Taking to Twitter, he said that the government, with just 23 days left, increased the price of electricity to Rs50 per basic unit and jolted 230 million people with 440 volt of power.

“How the people, who are drawing salary of Rs35,000-50,000, will pay the electricity bill of Rs15,000-20,000?” he said.

The AML head said now electricity, gas, flour and sugar were out of the people’s reach.

The incumbent government, instead of giving them relief, had done everything in 15 months which had inflicted sufferings on the people. Sanctity of human rights was violated, children and women were taken away from their homes and innocent people were put behind bars. This was the worst period of brutality, gangeism and the politics of revenge, he added.

Mr Rashid said the remaining 20 days of the government would make new news headlines. The former federal minister said that the PDM would dismember soon and allied parties would soon be at daggers drawn with each other when they would be contesting elections on their respective party (electoral) symbols.

“Every government says that it has no Allahdin’s Lamp,” the former minister said. “When there will be an 85-member cabinet, new vehicles will be purchased worth billions of rupees and over 50 aimless and useless foreign trips will be undertaken, the entire burden will fall on the public,” said Mr Rashid.

The seasoned politician further said that the days of the government had been numbered, but a decision was yet to be made about the caretaker government. The government also shackled freedom of the press in its last days, he said.