Awami Muslim League (AML) chief Sheikh Rashid Ahmed has said that the hopes and aspirations of the 13-party opposition alliance, Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), were dashed to the ground after the appointment of a caretaker prime minister. In a message on social media, Rashid said that the PDM parties were ashamed of each other and did not even have the courage to congratulate each other on the appointment of the caretaker PM. He said that the PDM parties were asking each other what had happened and how it had happened. Rashid also criticized the way the 16-month-old PDM government departed, saying that they were humiliated and not even considered worthy of being consulted.

He asked in which country of the world Section 144 was imposed on Independence Day. He said that electricity was cut off in those areas where the headquarters of all the military organizations were located. People were arrested and locked up in police stations, he added. The AML chief said that the institutions should make it clear where women and children were kept after they were taken away from their homes. He warned that the seeds of hatred which were being sown in Pakistan would not yield any positive results. The consequences might be dire, he said.

 Rashid also pointed out that no head of Pakistan's political party was present at the oath-taking ceremony of the caretaker prime minister on Monday. He said that everyone was looking at each other asking what had happened and how it had happened. The PDM allies were avoiding each other to make any comment on the new development because they had no courage, he said. Rashid also demanded that the names of the current cabinet of 85 members should be put on the Exit Control List (ECL), just as the names of the old cabinet members were placed on the list.

 
Credit: Independent News Pakistan (INP)