The Opposition lawmakers, who earlier appeared confident of the success of the no-trust move, protested against the decision, as they made their way to the Parliament House of Pakistan
File image of Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan. Reuters
Pakistan National Assembly Deputy Speaker Qasim Khan Suri on Sunday dismissed a no-trust motion against embattled Prime Minister Imran Khan, terming it against Article 5 of the Constitution. Prime Minister Imran Khan said that he has advised President Arif Alvi to dissolve the National Assembly and call for fresh elections.
Suri chaired the crucial session after opposition parties filed a no-confidence motion against Speaker Asad Qaiser.
In a brief address to the nation, Khan said he has advised President Alvi to dissolve assemblies.
His announcement came minutes after National Assembly Deputy Speaker Qasim Sur dismissed a no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Khan, terming it a contradiction of Article 5 of the Constitution.
Opposition lawmakers, who earlier appeared confident of the success of the no-trust move as they made their way to Parliament House, protested against the decision.
The Opposition front in Pakistan will stage a sit-in at the national assembly till the no-trust vote against the Imran Khan government is held, Pakistan Peoples’ Party leader Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said today.
Taking to Twitter after the Deputy Speaker of Pakistan’s national assembly, Qasim Suri, rejected the no-trust vote on grounds of national security, Mr Bhutto Zardari tweeted, “Government has violated constitution. did not allow voting on no confidence motion. The united opposition is not leaving parliament. Our lawyers are on their way to Supreme Court. We call on ALL institutions to protect, uphold, defend & implement the constitution of Pakistan.”
“At the last moment, the Speaker took an illegal step. Pakistan’s law was broken. As per law, the no-trust vote is to happen today. The united opposition has decided to stage a dharna in national assembly till we are given our legal right. Our lawyers will reach the Supreme Court to ensure that the no-trust vote happens today,” he said.
“The Parliament cannot be dissolved, (the government) must face the no-trust vote,” Mr Bhutto Zardari added.
“Imran Khan has exposed himself with this juvenile act,” he added.
The Opposition parties need 172 members of the 342-member National Assembly to orchestrate the defeat of Khan and already they have claimed the support of 177 members, more than the needed strength to oust the prime minister.
Imran Khan, came to power in 2018 with promises to create a ‘Naya Pakistan’, is at a critical juncture of his political career as he has lost majority after defection from his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party. Two of his allied parties also withdrew their support and joined the ranks of the rejuvenated Opposition.
The combined opposition filed the no-confidence motion on March 8, setting a set of events leading to the day of voting and rise in the tension due to Khan’s insistence that he was being targeted as part of the foreign conspiracy with the collaboration of top opposition leaders.
Khan, 69, on 2 April, 2022, issued a call to the followers of his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, especially the youth, to hold peaceful protests on the day of voting to reject the conspiracy and assembly proceeding to topple the government.
He earlier described the rebel lawmakers as “traitors” and said that they will be branded as such for the rest of their lives as he pleaded with them to come back and foil the Opposition’s attempt to topple his government.
Hours before the voting, Khan urged the country’s youth to stage “peaceful protests” against a “foreign conspiracy” allegedly hatched against his government. He told them that he has “more than one plan” for Sunday’s crucial vote on the no-confidence motion.
“The politics of Pakistan has reached a point today where the nation has to decide where you want to take the country. A society that stands with honesty and justice takes a new life. But when a society becomes neutral, it begins supporting the bad,” he said.
“There’s a conspiracy against the government right now and it has been proven that politicians are being bought like goats to topple the government,” he alleged. The conspiracy started abroad and some politicians in the country are helping these people abroad, he said.
Section 144 has been imposed in Islamabad as Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan faces a no-confidence motion in the National Assembly on Sunday. In order to avoid any untoward incidents in the capital city, the administration in Islamabad has also prohibited pillion riding.
Pakistan’s Opposition member moved a motion for the removal of Asad Qaiser, National Assembly Speaker, ahead of Imran Khan’s No-trust vote.
According to Pakistan media, more than 100 members of Opposition parties have signed the no-confidence motion against the National Assembly speaker Asad Qaiser.
No Pakistani prime minister has ever completed a full five-year term in office. Also, no prime minister in Pakistan’s history has ever been ousted through a no-confidence motion, and Khan is the third premier to face the challenge.
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