In a brief relief for Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan, the Pakistan National Assembly on Friday was adjourned till Monday providing the cricketer-turned-politician more time to convince his allies to support him during the no-confidence motion.
According to a report by Pakistani media outlet The Dawn, the crucial session was adjourned without tabling of the no-confidence resolution against Imran Khan. Pakistan National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser, while adjourning the session, said that as per parliamentary traditions, the session has been adjourned owing to the death of PTI MNA Khayal Zaman, the Dawn reported.
In Pakistan, it is a parliamentary convention that the first session after the death of a Member of the National Assembly (MNA) is limited for prayers for the deceased. Speaker Asad Qaiser said that this has happened a total of 24 times in the past and he will conduct the proceedings as per rules and procedures. Notably, acting on mutual hatred to oust Imran Khan, the Opposition parties submitted the no-confidence motion in National Assembly on March 8. In the 342-member National Assembly, the Imran Khan government requires at least 172 members to sail through the no-confidence vote. However, several dissident MNAs of the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) came out in open and the government allies are reported to have sided with the Opposition, thus, it is yet to be seen if Imran Khan succeeds in defeating the no-trust motion.
Opposition seals deal with key Imran Khan ally ahead of no-trust vote:
Ahead of the National Assembly session on no-confidence motion against the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government, Bilawal Bhutto’s Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) on Thursday announced that matters had been settled with key government ally, Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) and that the ruling coalition member will vote in favour of the motion to oust Imran Khan, local media reported.
MQM-P is the largest ally of the ruling PTI coalition with seven members in the National Assembly. “Talks have been held with the MQM today (Thursday) and matters have been settled. It is also possible that some ministers will also be with the opposition,” PPP secretary general Farhatullah Babar told reporters outside Zardari House after the party’s parliamentary party meeting, The Dawn reported.
Opposition finalizes strategy ahead of voting:
The opposition parties in Pakistan have finalised their strategy for not allowing any adjournment of the session without tabling of the motion, as the National Assembly is all set to convene today morning to discuss the no-confidence motion filed against Prime Minister Imran Khan-led Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government.
The top leaders of the opposition met on Thursday night to give the final touches to their strategy for the no-confidence motion. It was decided in the meeting that a meeting of the parliamentary parties of the opposition would be held one hour before the assembly session, The Express Tribune reported citing sources.
