Happy to see crowd despite rain, will join Imran to prove poor 'in power': Rasheed

RAWALPINDI: Awami Muslim League (AML) leader Sheikh Rasheed Ahmad said Sunday he would form a coalition with Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan to "prove that the poor people are in power".

While addressing a rally here in the city's Liaquat Bagh, Rasheed expressed his pleasure at the crowd of supporters. "I'm very happy that people showed up here despite the rain emergency that has been declared in the city," he said.

The AML chief, however, conveyed his displeasure at the election being delayed in the NA-60 constituency after a court sentenced Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz's (PML-N) Hanif Abbasi to life in imprisonment, effectively making him ineligible for the July 25 polls.

"According to the Election Act 2017, the polls cannot be called off unless and until a candidate dies," Rasheed stated. Earlier, he had remarked that Justice Mian Saqib Nisar, the chief justice of Pakistan (CJP) should take notice of postponement of the election in NA-60.

"Hanif Abbasi was sentenced in a contraband smuggling case," he said, claiming that the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) took an unconstitutional step to delay the polls in the said constituency and labelling the move as a conspiracy.

The ECP should make a decision with respect to the law and not opinions shared on media, Rasheed said, referring to public opinion and adding that the poor people's money had been misused via Hudaibiya Paper Mills and the liquified natural gas (LNG) deal, which he claims was corruption.