At a press conference in Islamabad on Saturday, the interior minister maintained that the opposition had actually played into the hands of the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government, whose popularity he claimed had increased since the no-confidence motion was submitted.
He termed the opposition 'fools' for helping Prime Minister Imran Khan gain more support.
Answering further questions, Rasheed said that Pakistan People's Party (PPP) MNA Jam Abdul Karim would be arrested upon his return to Pakistan from Dubai. The MNA has been nominated in a murder cases in Sindh, but is currently staying out of the country.
“I have directed Federal Investigation Agency [FIA] and Sindh police to arrest PPP MNA Jam Abdul Karim from the airport,” Rasheed said, despite the fact that the Sindh High Court on Friday granted 10-days protective bail to Karim so that he could attend the no-confidence vote session.
Although the no-confidence motion was on the agenda of Friday's National Assembly session, Speaker Asad Qaiser had adjourned Friday's session until Monday. Leader of the Opposition Shehbaz Sharif then wrote a letter to Asad Qaiser in which he criticised his handling of the no-confidence motion and complained that the speaker had failed to fulfil his constitutional obligations by delaying the no-confidence vote.