Murree toll would have been 30 to 40 if I hadn't gone there: Sheikh Rasheed

• Interior minister says when he went to Murree, he ordered evacuation of more than 700 people who were stuck in vehicles.
• We had to summon Rangers because people were not listening to police personnel, he says.
• Rules out in-house change in the National Assembly.

RAWALPINDI: Federal Interior Minister Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed on Sunday spoke about the Murree tragedy — in which 23 people had lost their lives while being stuck in their vehicles due to heavy snow — and said that had he not visited the hill station following the news to oversee the situation, the toll would have been as high as 30 to 40 instead of 23.

Speaking to journalists in Rawalpindi during his visit to inspect the Mother and Child Hospital (M&CH), the minister said that he went to Murree for the sake of humanity and not because he was a minister. 

Rasheed added the government had to summon the Rangers in Murree because people were not listening to police personnel and were trying to enter the hill station by force. 

Had the Rangers not been summoned, 500 more vehicles would have entered Murree and that would have led to a bigger disaster, he said.

"Went I went to Murree, I had ordered the evacuation of more than 700 people who were stuck in their cars," he claimed.

Rasheed rules out in-house change

Rasheed ruled out the chance of an in-house change in the National Assembly as proposed by the Opposition and said that Prime Minister Imran Khan would complete the constitutional tenure.

He said that there was no threat to the PTI-led government from the Opposition’s long marches, adding that the government would present a people-friendly budget in the next fiscal year. 

Commenting on the Opposition Leader in National Assembly Shahbaz Sharif's remarks, Rasheed said that Imran Khan was not a scary dream but a sweet dream for him. The minister said he had never seen a politician like Nawaz Sharif who left the country for personal interests.

"If the Opposition tabled a no-confidence motion against the PM Imran Khan, they would face the same destiny as they experienced in the passing of the finance bill," Rasheed said and mentioned that the 12 members of the Opposition were absent from the National Assembly during the last session. 

"This figure would be 26 if they forwarded a no-confidence motion against PM Imran Khan," he predicted. 

'Rasheed's statement alarming for PM Imran Khan': Rana Sanaullah

Reacting to the interior minister's statement about the Murree tragedy, senior PML-N leader Rana Sanaullah said: "Rasheed's statement about the Murree incident has set alarm bells ringing for Imran Khan."

He said that it's high time PM Imran Khan resigned from his post because he has "turned into a nightmare" for the masses.

"Imran Khan is a dream-come-true for those who steal wheat, sugar, and medicines from this country," Sanaullah said.

— With input from APP.