The Sheikh Rasheed Ahmad Gambling Scandal Explained
At the beginning of 2019, Rana Sanaullah, which is the current leader of the Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) has accused Sheikh Rasheed of corruption through illegal activities such as gambling which have helped him fund his political and business career. These claims date back to before 1985 which means that we aren’t talking about creating top online casinos in Pakistan, but for organizing illegal gambling dens.
This has been claimed to happen before Sheikh Rasheed enters politics which makes another question arise – if Mr Sanaullah really has the evidence he claims he’s gathered, why hasn’t he shared this information earlier? Furthermore, the situation gets more and more intense and more complicated as the senior PML-N leader even names people who have either been witnesses or can confirm these allegations.
The two sides of the coin are truly polarizing – this can either be considered as bullet-proof facts or just tactics to compromise even more the reputation of Railway Minister Sheikh Rasheed. But is Rana Sanaullah the most innocent and uncompromised politician who has thrown down the gauntlet? Let’s see what the facts below are, so you can make up your mind.
Who Is the Sheikh Rasheed Scandal Accuser Actually?
Both Rana Sanaullah and Federal Minister for Railways Sheikh Rasheed have similar political careers. Having in mind that they are born in the same year, it’s no wonder that the 90s were the decade where both politicians made a name for themselves. While Sheikh Rasheed has stepped earlier on the big political scene, Rana Sanaullah wasn’t far behind and is currently a Member of the National Assembly in Pakistan.
Apart from his illustrious career which includes four consecutive candidate re-elections in the Pakistani general elections, similar to Rasheed, he has also caused lots of controversies. In 2011, Rana Sanaullah accused American Warren Weinstein of being a spy who was later missing and got accidentally killed in January 2015.
Furthermore, Rana even got sacked as a law minister in 2014 due to his approval of violent Punjab Police actions. Overall speaking, just like Sheikh Rasheed, the leader of the Pakistan Muslim League is also a man of many faces, making his accusations all that more colourful and mystic.
The Response of Sheikh Rasheed
As the Federal Minister of Railways, the Sheikh Rasheed latest interview after these statements wasn’t positive at all. He denies any of this to be true claiming that it’s all a hoax. Both politicians seem to express their dislike towards one another whenever they can, and Sheikh Rasheed has even stated that his “mouth gets filthy just by mentioning the name of the leader of the PML-N”. The scandals between them have been going back and forth, mostly with claims coming from the side of Rana Sanaullah.
The latter even filled a disqualification reference against Sheikh Rasheed for making properties on the name of his nephews and brothers. However, when it comes to official statements or even trials in regards to the gambling scandal, there is no officially filled case at the moment.
The Sheikh Rasheed Latest Scandal
As you can see, Sheikh Rasheed is quite familiar with scandals, but the most recent one might end the Federal Minister of Railways’ career. Although some people might turn this into a political betting event, the fact is that the Supreme Court of Pakistan is blaming Sheikh Rasheed for big railway losses and asks him to submit a working business plan.
The deadline for this is two weeks and if the demands of the Supreme Court aren’t properly addressed, Sheikh Rasheed Ahmad might face some serious charges. Apart from that, the court has been criticising this Minister for not relieving high-level employees of their duties in regards to the Tezgam incident in October 2019. The top judge even stated that Sheikh Rasheed should have resigned instantly. The bigger picture is much more worrying for this politician as his political career is truly in jeopardy!
The Gambling Accusations– Unproven Claims?
If Rana Sanaullah’s claims of Sheikh Rasheed’s illegal activities turn out to be true, then he’ll surely be removed from politics for good. Just like some businessmen who refuse to speak about how they made their first million, the Federal Minister of Railways might turn out to be in the same position when it comes to proving whether he has organised illegal gambling activities. The shady past of Sheikh Rasheed Ahmad might just re-emerge on the political scene of Pakistan, but until concrete evidence and proof can be provided, he remains innocent until proven guilty.
