Pak’s Oppn submits no-confidence motion against PM Imran Khan; blames his govt for uncontrolled inflation

International

pti-PTI

Islamabad,
Mar
8:
Pakistan’s
Opposition
parties
on
Tuesday
submitted
a
no-confidence
motion
against
Prime
Minister
Imran
Khan
to
remove
him
from
office
after
holding
his
government
responsible
for
the
uncontrolled
inflation,
prompting
him
to
dismiss
the
move
and
flaunt
his
closeness
to
the
powerful
army.

The
motion,
signed
by
about
100
lawmakers
from
the
Pakistan
Muslim
League-Nawaz
(PML-N)
and
Pakistan
Peoples
Party
(PPP),
was
submitted
with
the
National
Assembly
Secretariat,
PML-N
spokesperson
Marriyum
Aurangzeb
said.
“We
have
taken
this
decision
for
the
people
of
Pakistan
and
not
for
ourselves,”
PML-N
president
and
Leader
of
the
Opposition
Shehbaz
Sharif,
who
was
flanked
by
former
president
and
PPP
co-chairman
Asif
Ali
Zardari
and
Jamiat
Ulema-e-Islam
Fazl
(JUI-F)
chief
Maulana
Fazlur
Rehman,
told
a
press
conference.

As
per
rules,
signatures
of
at
least
68
Members
of
Parliament
were
required
to
force
the
Speaker
to
summon
a
session,
which
should
be
convened
between
three
to
seven
days
to
conduct
a
vote
on
a
no-confidence
motion.

In
the
house
of
342,
the
opposition
needed
the
support
of
172
members
to
remove
the
Prime
Minister
and
his
cabinet.
Khan,
69,
is
heading
a
coalition
government
and
he
can
be
removed
if
some
of
the
partners
decide
to
switch
sides,
which
is
not
unusual
in
parliamentary
democracies.

Reacting
to
the
opposition
move,
Prime
Minister
Khan
said
that
the
country’s
powerful
army
was
with
him
and
he
was
confident
that
the
government
was
not
going
anywhere.
“The
army
stands
with
me,
it
will
never
support
thieves
(…)
and
since
the
people
are
not
backing
the
Opposition
anymore,
they
are
claiming
that
the
establishment
is
supporting
them,”
he
said.

The
powerful
army,
which
has
ruled
Pakistan
for
more
than
half
of
its
73
plus
years
of
existence,
has
hitherto
wielded
considerable
power
in
the
matters
of
security
and
foreign
policy.
“After
this,
nothing
will
happen
against
this
government
till
2028
(…)
Opposition
will
face
a
humiliating
defeat,”
the
prime
minister
said.

“My
lawmakers
are
being
offered
Rs180
million
(for
supporting
no-confidence
motion).
I
told
them
to
take
the
money
and
distribute
it
among
the
poor,”
he
claimed.
Echoing
the
ruling
party’s
narrative
of
international
conspiracy
behind
attempts
seeking
his
removal,
Khan
said
people
who
do
not
want
an
independent
foreign
policy
would
support
the
no-confidence
motion.

Khan
had
said
he
was
ready
for
everything
the
Opposition
throws
at
him.
“The
powerful
desires
(national
reconciliation
ordinance)
and
threaten
to
topple
the
government
if
they
don’t
get
it
but
I
will
not
give
them
that
as
long
as
I
am
alive,”
Khan
said.

Opposition
parties
blame
Khan’s
government
for
uncontrolled
inflation
that
has
broken
the
back
of
poor
people
of
the
country,
while
Khan
accuses
them
of
trying
to
remove
as
he
was
not
willing
to
condone
the
alleged
corruption
by
the
leading
opposition
leaders.

Addressing
the
joint
press
conference,
Zardari
said
that
a
lot
of
people,
even
leaders
from
the
ruling
party,
were
upset
due
to
the
poor
performance
of
the
government.
“We
have
the
support
of
more
than
272
members
and
our
move
will
succeed,”
he
said.

When
asked
about
the
new
prime
minister
if
the
opposition
succeeded
to
topple
the
Khan
government,
Rehman
said
that
opposition
parties
would
decide
the
new
leader
with
consultation.
Interior
Minister
Sheikh
Rashid
said
that
the
move
by
the
opposition
would
fail.

“They
will
bite
the
dust
and
it
will
be
their
(opposition)
historic
defeat,”
he
said.
Meanwhile,
Khan’s
close
aide
Aleem
Khan
announced
that
he
would
be
joining
hands
with
disgruntled
party
leader
Jahangir
Tareen,
prompting
the
panic-stricken
prime
minister
to
dispatch
Sindh
Governor
Imran
Ismail
to
Lahore
to
pacify
the
former
Punjab
minister.

Khan
summoned
the
Attorney
General
of
Pakistan
at
the
Prime
Minister’s
House
to
discuss
legal
aspects
after
the
Opposition
tabled
the
no-trust
move
against
him.
According
to
sources,
the
AGP
briefed
the
premier
regarding
the
legal
implications
of
the
move.

Last
year,
Khan
got
178
votes
when
he
had
decided
to
seek
a
vote
of
confidence
after
a
candidate
supported
by
his
party
lost
the
Senate
election.
On
paper,
Khan
still
enjoys
that
support,
comprising
155
members
of
his
Pakistan
Tehreek-i-Insaf
and
23
from
coalition
partners,
including
seven
from
Mutahida
Qaumi
Movement
(MQM),
five
each
from
Pakistan
Muslim
League
(PML)
and
Balochistan
Awami
Party
(BAP),
three
from
Grand
Democratic
Alliance
(GDA),
one
each
from
Awami
Muslim
League
(AML)
and
Jamhoori
Watan
Party
(JWP)
and
one
independent
member.

The
total
opposition
number
is
163,
including
84
from
PML-N,
56
PPP,
15
Muttahida
Majlis-e-Amal
Pakistan,
four
Balochistan
National
Party
(BNP),
one
Awami
National
Party
(ANP)
and
three
independent
lawmakers.

The
Opposition
has
claimed
that
they
have
the
backing
of
28
lawmakers
of
the
ruling
party
and
others
from
an
ally
of
the
government.
Khan,
a
former
cricketer,
came
to
power
in
2018
and
elections
are
to
be
held
in
2023
if
he
succeeded
to
ward
off
the
challenge
of
no-trust
move.

He
had
promised
to
clean
the
country
of
corruption
and
create
a
new
Pakistan.
Meanwhile,
the
Islamabad
police
have
stopped
PPP’s
Awami
March
at
D
Chowk
from
entering
the
federal
capital.
The
party’s
spokesperson
said
the
convoy
was
stopped
by
the
police
after
which
PPP’s
Chairman
Bilawal
Bhutto-Zardari
refused
to
proceed
without
the
full
convoy.
PPP’s
long
march,
which
started
from
Karachi
last
month,
is
scheduled
to
enter
Islamabad
on
Tuesday
night.
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