On Eid, a video of Sheikh Rasheed went viral in which he was seen crying while remembering his late mother. Such emotions are natural and in line with human feelings. However, the real issue isn’t his tears but his body language. He appears as a deeply frustrated, stressed, and defeated elderly man, struggling to appear normal, sometimes buying something from a street vendor, sometimes shopping at a store, sometimes posting pictures with his pets at his farmhouse "Freedom House," and sometimes uploading photos from recreational hill stations. When he speaks to journalists outside the court after attending hearings, nothing but anguish, sorrow, resentment, and helplessness is visible.
Sheikh Rasheed is, first and last, a quintessential tout politician, and he has always taken pride in this title. Gate No. 4 of the GHQ was everything to him. With a few exceptions, the establishment has always presented him as its prized product. It was Sheikh Rashid who, standing beside Imran Khan at rallies, incited people to "burn Pakistan and kill civilian rulers."
After the complete failure of the "New Pakistan Project," the ensuing chaos led even the cunning Sheikh Rashid to slip from his usual track. ISI chief General Faiz Hameed had gained so much influence that he became an institution unto himself. The perception grew that nothing could stop him from becoming the next army chief. For the first time in history, a large section of the media and judges also sided with him. After the PTI government’s ouster, Imran Khan & Co. were bound to criticise Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa, but even judges, under Chief Justice Bandial, jumped on the bandwagon. The establishment’s own media channels were in such a state that anchors and analysts were hell-bent on proving General Bajwa to be a foreign agent.
Undoubtedly, General Bajwa showed weakness unless General Faiz Hameed had something incriminating on his chief that could be used for blackmail. Otherwise, given the mess Faiz Hameed created, General Bajwa should have court martialed him before retirement instead of giving him a safe exit.
Amid this turmoil, the public was stunned when a cowardly and servile figure like Sheikh Rasheed started speaking against even threatening General Bajwa and the establishment. Sheikh Rasheed was also active in the campaign to block the appointment of General Syed Asim Munir as Bajwa’s successor until May 9 happened. Field Marshal Asim Munir proved his nerves of steel, and Faiz Hameed was arrested. During this time, Sheikh Rasheed was also briefly detained.
The state paid no heed to the uproar created by Imran Khan’s domestic and foreign lobbies and the Faiz Hameed network. Sheikh Rasheed was crushed in the clash of elephants. It’s rare for a tout to be completely out. History and the present bear witness that touts are occasionally scolded for their major mistakes, but are never permanently discarded, so they can be reused when needed.
Sheikh Rasheed’s misfortune is that the establishment has now classified him as scrap, sealing his fate. Not only is he barred from GHQ, but even ordinary military offices and safe houses have stopped inviting him. It seems even phone calls have ceased. In the world of touts, such a rise and fall is a rare spectacle.
I, like many other journalists, especially those who have worked in Rawalpindi and Islamabad, do know much about Sheikh Rashid. There’s no need to write more, but what all of Pakistan knows is this: Shady dealings, vulgar language, pride in misconduct, uncouth demeanour in posture and behaviour, arrogance, theatrics like a third-rate astrologer reading scripts provided by spy agencies, and dominating TV screens.
After wearing the establishment’s badge, Sheikh Rasheed began to think of himself as a general. Had he not miscalculated and crossed the line into outright stupidity, he might have spent a few more years blowing cigar smoke in power corridors and spouting nonsense. But he reached a point where he started challenging his own masters. Now, he stands as a cautionary tale.
This is the same Sheikh Rashid who, in 2022, preemptively announced that something would happen with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s Umrah delegation and that everyone would see. As per a pre-planned scheme (likely devised somewhere in Islamabad), a PTI group desecrated the sanctity of Masjid-e-Nabwi, chasing the Pakistani delegation and shouting slogans, crossing all limits of decency. Imran Khan’s financier, Anil Musarrat and Cheeko, among others, had specially flown in from the UK for this disgraceful act.
PTI MNA and Sheikh Rasheed’s nephew, Sheikh Rashid Shafiq, was present during the ruckus in Masjid-e-Nabwi. Right after the vile act, he recorded a video there, boasting: People from the Pakistani government came here, and the crowd chanted ‘Thief! Thief!’ This is Imran Khan’s victory. They will go to the Kaaba, and slogans will be raised against them there too." In other words, Rashid Shafiq not only accepted responsibility for the sacrilege but also took “credit" for it.
Seeing such desecration of one of Islam’s holiest sites, the Saudi government immediately took action. Anil Musarrat and Cheeko sensed danger and fled back to England on a chartered plane. The Saudis arrested some culprits, but Shehbaz Sharif later secured their pardon for reasons unknown. When Rashid Shafiq returned to Pakistan, he was arrested. A case was also filed against Sheikh Rasheed in a Pakistani court, where the judge appeared furious, yet all were acquitted.
But divine retribution is also a reality. Those who gamble away both faith and worldly ethics for filthy political gains are now facing the consequences both outwardly and inwardly.