Islamabad (National Times)- Former interior minister Sheikh Rasheed told Geo News on Tuesday that former Prime Minister Imran Khan was not expecting the no-trust motion until the last day.

On the Geo News Programme Aaj Shahzeb Khanzada Kay Saath Sheikh Rasheed stated that Imran Khan was confident until the last day of the no-trust motion’s failure, but “I realised when Muttahida Qaumi Movement Pakistan (MQM-P) and Baluchistan Awami Party (BAP) had parted ways from Imran Khan’s government.”

“When these two parties left the government, I realised that ‘Baap’ of the BAP is no longer with us, and I told Imran Khan that it’s over, now pack up and go home,” he added.

The former interior minister shed light on the country’s current political situation, saying, “behind the curtain, there is much going on, but even if all the countries of the world stand behind Prime Minister Shehbaz, the fall of this coalition government is imminent because it is standing on one vote.”

Sheikh Rasheed went on to say that because Pakistan is a nuclear power in a critical region of the world, it requires a national leader in times of crisis.

Sheikh Rasheed condemned the government’s use of force against the PTI Azadi March, calling it a “barbaric act.”

“Whatever happened on May 25, it was the worst form of tyranny and oppression because they [the government] used poisonous tear gas on protestors,” he said, adding, “They unleashed a massacre on D-chowk, and the way police treated women, they should die of shame.”

Dispelling rumours of resentment toward PTI chairman Imran Khan, the former minister stated, “I still have good relations with the Pakistan Army, but now I am standing with Imran Khan and paying the price for doing so.”