Federal Minister for Railways Sheikh Rashid said on Saturday that he was not in favour of lodging a treason case (Article 6) against Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam (JUI-F) chief Fazlur Rehman for an attempt to “topple” the government during Azadi March last year.

In his talk to the media, the minister warned the JUI-F chief of consequences this time if he tries to (hold sit-in) in Islamabad.

“This time, [the government] will behave differently with the marchers,” he said.

Discussing about the issue of recovering the railways land from encroachments, Rashid asserted that not all of the land was being recovered but “areas of 50ft”.

“The sale of properties will reduce the railways’ deficit.”

The federal minister further stated that that he would meet Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah to discuss the issue of clearing the tracks of the Karachi Circular Railway (KCR) from encroachments.

“The Supreme Court has allowed selling the properties in Karachi, [I have] pledged with the public to reduce railways’ deficit within five years.”

About terms with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) concerning possible hike in electricity tariffs, the minister revealed that the government would not accept such demand from the global moneylender.

He affirmed that the premier has been striving to work out issues of the country.

Regarding PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif’s return to the country, he revealed that the PML-N leader has planned to return in March.