If Nawaz Sharif wants to return, I will grant visa within 24 hours, pay for ticket: Sheikh Rasheed

• Interior Minister Sheikh Rasheed reiterates that PM Imran Khan will not be going anywhere.
• Says the PM will continue his fight against corruption "until his last breath".
• PML-N's Rana Sanaullah says "mere mention of Nawaz's return has sent alarm bells ringing for the government".
• PPP Senator Rehman Malik says "no one can stop Nawaz from returning to Pakistan".

KARACHI: Minister for Interior Sheikh Rasheed on Sunday said that if PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif wants to return to Pakistan, he will issue a "visa" to him within 24 hours and will also "pay for his air ticket".

Rasheed made the announcement after rumours started spreading that Nawaz would possibly return to Pakistan ahead of the next general elections. 

Speaking during a press conference in Karachi, the interior minister said that Nawaz had left the country citing medical reasons but "never visited a doctor" once he reached England. 

Answering a question related to the Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Shahbaz Sharif, Rasheed said: "Your threats will not affect us in any way; you should look at your own conduct. No one else has been as corrupt as you, so you cannot hold us accountable for anything."

Rasheed went on to say that both, the Sharif and Zardari families, are "corrupt", so Prime Minister Imran Khan will continue to fight against their corruption "till his last breath". 

The interior minister was also questioned about the founder of MQM Altaf Hussain, and in response, he said that he has known him since his days as a student.

"We cannot talk to him (Altaf) anymore because he has too many murder cases registered against his name," the minister said. "On the other hand, we have had a good relationship with MQM-Pakistan and will continue to do so."

He reiterated that despite the Opposition's aggressive campaign to oust the PTI-led government, PM Imran Khan will not be going anywhere. He added that the government has good relations with the establishment.

'News of Nawaz's return sent alarm bells ringing': Rana Sanaullah

Reacting to Sheikh Rasheed's statement, senior PML-N leader Rana Sanaullah said that the mere mention of Nawaz Sharif's possible return to Pakistan "has sent alarm bells ringing" for the government, adding that once the PML-N supremo returns, "Imran Niazi, Rasheed, and their hired spokespersons will find no place to hide".

Sanaullah said that the people of Pakistan are "ready to welcome Nawaz".

The PML-N leader said that there are only allegations against Nawaz Sharif and Shahbaz Sharif and that the "government does not have any evidence" against them. 

"The fear of Nawaz Sharif's return is not letting him [Imran Khan] sleep," he said. "Those responsible for causing a tsunami of inflation, incompetence, and corruption are screaming [out of fear now]. They can do whatever they want, but they will eventually have to leave."

He added that a "panicked Imran Niazi" had done away with his party constitution in his alarmed state.

"We have only one message for Imran Niazi and that is "bas aap ne ghabrana naheen hai' (you must not panic)," Sanaullah quipped, citing the premier's oft-repeated mantra.

'No one can stop Nawaz Sharif from returning to Pakistan': Rehman Malik

Commenting on the ongoing debate regarding Nawaz's possible return to Pakistan, PPP leader and former interior minister Rehman Malik has said that no one can stop the PML-N supremo from returning to Pakistan. 

"It is his country, therefore, no one can stop him from coming back," Malik said, adding that only time will tell whether the government will remain in power "or go home once Mian sahib comes".

"It remains to be seen what measures must be employed for his arrival."