'Political defeat, humiliation' await Opposition on March 23: Sheikh Rasheed

• Sheikh Rasheed says govt to not create hurdles for Opposition's PDM march.
• Says "honest" PM Imran Khan has good relationship with "establishment".
• Rasheed says people will not back PDM when it marches towards capital.

RAWALPINDI: Minister for Interior Sheikh Rasheed said Wednesday the Opposition would face "defeat and humiliation" when it marches to Islamabad on March 23, as he assured them the government would not create hurdles for them if they follow the law.

Despite persistent persuasion by the government, the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) had on Tuesday decided to continue with the long march against rising inflation on March 23 (Pakistan Day).

Addressing an event in Pindi, the interior minister said due to security measures on the occasion of Pakistan Day and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Foreign Ministers Council's presence in the capital, mobile phone services might be suspended as well.

"What is your agenda? Why are you marching towards Islamabad?" the interior minister asked the Opposition, as he reiterated that they would face no resistance from the government.

'Establishment' and PM Imran Khan

The interior minister said the Opposition has already faced defeat in Parliament, and now it will also face "political defeat on the roads".

Rasheed said the Opposition had not been able to make any headway in its bid to oust the government in the last three-and-a-half years, and it could not do anything in future as well.

"The only thing they have done is give irresponsible statements against Imran Khan. The public did not come out on the streets in the last 3.5 years, and they will not come out now," he said.

Rasheed said PM Imran Khan was "an honest man", who had a good relationship with the "establishment".

He warned the Opposition that the prime minister would indeed be "very dangerous" if he were to take to the streets against it. "I say this with authority: Imran Khan has street power."