Pakistan Parliament’s crucial session to take up the no-confidence motion against defiant Prime Minister Imran Khan resumed after a long adjournment of more than three-and-a-half hours on Saturday, amid indications that the no-trust vote could be delayed after the government pressed for a discussion on the so-called “foreign conspiracy” against it.
In line with a landmark Supreme Court order, the National Assembly’s session began in the morning. National Assembly (NA) Speaker Asad Qaiser is chairing the session which began at 10:30 am (local time).
Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Shehbaz Sharif hailed Thursday as a historic day in Pakistan’s history when the Supreme Court rejected the deputy speaker’s ruling and said that the apex court’s decision had made the country’s future “bright”.
Prime Minister Khan, in an address to the nation ahead of the no-trust motion where he has little chance of surviving unless some miracle takes place, expressed disappointment over the Supreme Court’s verdict on the NA deputy speaker’s controversial decision on the rejection of the no-trust motion against him.
The cricketer-turned-politician, who has effectively lost the majority in the 342-member house, seemed to accept the writing on the wall and urged his supporters to stage peaceful protests across the country when the “new imported government” comes into power on Sunday.
Shehbaz, 70, an Opposition candidate for the new prime minister, will announce his possible government priorities after taking the oath. The opposition parties need 172 members in the 342-member house to orchestrate the downfall of Prime Minister Khan and already they showed the support of more than the needed strength. Now Khan faces the possibility of being the first prime minister in Pakistan’s history to be voted out in a no-confidence motion.