All parties should sit together and decide Senate election votes, says Sheikh Rasheed

• Sheikh Rasheed says all political parties should sit together and decide Senate election votes
• Says mutual decision will help avoid "buying and selling of votes"
• Accuses Shahbaz Sharif of paying $750,000 to NAB

RAWALPINDI: Interior Minister Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed on Sunday said that "all political parties should sit together and make decisions about the Senate election votes so that the process of buying and selling votes could be avoided."

He was speaking during a ceremony in Rawalpindi during which he accused PML-N leader Shahbaz Sharif of paying $750,000 to the National Accountability Bureau (NAB). 

"I had already predicted that they [the Opposition leaders] will not submit their resignations, and that is exactly what happened," he said. 

Related: Bilawal Bhutto has recognised Imran Khan as an 'elected' prime minister: Shah Mehmood Qureshi

'Govt not going to create hindrance in long march'

Sending a message to Pakistan Democratic Movement's chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman, Sheikh Rasheed said that the government is "ready to participate along with Fazl in the Kashmir solidarity rally."

"I respect whatever Fazlur Rehman said during PDM's rally in Karachi," the interior minister said. 

Referencing PDM's anti-Israel rally, Rasheed, a day earlier, had said that since the government was not taking any steps to recognise Israel,  Fazlur Rehman had "wasted the people's time by organising anti-Israel rallies".

He added that the Opposition should announce the date of the long march because the government would "not cause any impediments for them and would welcome them instead."

'Bilawal could bring about no-confidence motion 100 times'

Speaking about the Opposition's stance on the Senate elections, Sheikh Rasheed said that "Bilawal Bhutto can bring about the no-confidence motion in the Senate a hundred times," but he should remember that when the PPP had "66 members in the Senate, then 11 of them had gone missing."

It should be recalled that a day ago, Rasheed had backed Bilawal's decision of a no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Imran Khan and had termed it "the only way to get rid of the sitting government".

'Govt will rid Pakistan of inflation this year'

Shedding light on the country's economic situation, Sheikh Rasheed said that he stands by Prime Minister Imran Khan and believes in his vision, adding that "the government will control inflation within this year."

Read more: Bilawal calls for no-confidence motion bid against PM Imran Khan