Daily Times

LAHORE: Minister for Interior Affairs Sheikh Rashid Ahmed on Thursday said that he held a meeting with Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar in which political matters including reservations of ‘estranged’ Jehangir Tareen were discussed.

Addressing a press conference at the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) regional office, he said that he urged the chief minister to address the ‘genuine’ reservations of Jehangir Tareen and other party members. He said that Prime Minister Imran Khan-led government would steer Pakistan out of crises as all national institutions were on the same page.

The interior minister said that it was expected that Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan would take oath as Punjab Assembly member (MPA) on May 24, adding that Jehangir Tareen’s supporters would also vote for approval of the Punjab budget, to be presented by the government.

To a query, he said that Senator Syed Ali Zafar should submit the report on whether the FIA was subjecting Jehangir Tareen to fair, unbiased and non-discriminatory treatment in the cases registered against him or not.

To a question, he said that Maryam Nawaz had caused severe damage to the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz as a clear political rift or differences could be seen within the party. He said that PMLN President Shehbaz Sharif tried to flee the country in the wee hours to escape the Hudaibiya case, but the government did not allow him to go abroad.

The Interior Ministry, after approval of the federal cabinet, had put Shehbaz Sharif’s name on the exit control list (ECL), and he could file an appeal within 15 days with the ministry for exclusion of his name, he said. About Maryam Nawaz, he said that she had claimed that she would not leave the country; therefore, there was no question of inclusion or exclusion of her name in the ECL list.

Sheikh Rashid Ahmed said that the opposition alliance, Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), had been exposed, and the opposition could not cause any threat to the government. He said that Prime Minister Imran Khan was making efforts day and night to put the country on the road to progress and prosperity, besides eliminating the mafias, including sugar to provide relief to people.

About the FIA performance, the minister said that there was a need to bring further improvement in the FIA to make its performance up to the mark. He said that officials posted at same positions for 18 to 20 years would be transferred. He stressed the importance of FIA and said that the agency’s cybercrime wing should be made more effective and efficient to redress the complaints at the earliest.

The minister also visited various sections of the FIA regional office earlier, where the officials briefed him about progress on various ongoing cases and functions of the agency.