Jamiat Ulema Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief and Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) President Maulana Fazlur Rehman has said that the opposition will boycott the special Saturday session of the National Assembly (NA) wherein Prime Minister Imran Khan plans to seek a vote of confidence after the loss in the Senate.
The ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) lost the Senate general seat in Islamabad, wherein its candidate, Federal Minister of Finance Hafeez Shaikh got 164 votes while the PDM joint candidate received 169.
President Dr Arif Alvi had convened a session of the lower house on Saturday at 12 pm during which PM Imran would seek a vote of confidence from the parliamentarians in an apparent move to counter the opposition’s ability to challenge the legitimacy of his government.
Addressing a press conference, Fazl said that Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) senior leader Yousuf Raza Gillani’s victory was itself a no-confidence motion against the premier.
“So when the president talks about losing trust to call the session of the National Assembly, then this further strengthens the stance of the opposition,” he said.
After the opposition’s boycott of the session, Rehman said, “this session will have no political importance” and the PTI government “will not be considered the representative government of this nation”.
Fazl said that PM Imran called his own party members “salable commodities”. Votes of these members would also be included in tomorrow’s session, he reminded the premier.
In reply to a question, he underscored that the absence of the opposition parties from tomorrow’s session would not help the incumbent government.
“The importance of his whole narrative will be eliminated,” he said. “They formed a fake government and have been involved in one-sided procedures from day one,” the JUI-F chief added.
“We stand by our decisions and announcement. A meeting has been called on March 8 in Islamabad [to discuss the fate of the long march],” he added.
When asked whether he considered the “the direction of winds had changed”, the PDM chief said they had changed a long while ago. “The winds had changed when we first held the Azadi March,” he said.
Regarding the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) statement issued earlier today, the PDM president said: “We believe blaming the ECP [for their loss] in Senate election is not the matter”.
“We believe he [PM Imran Khan] blamed the ECP to put pressure on them [to not pursue] the foreign funding case.”
Fazl maintained that the government was now out of the PM’s hands, and advised the premier to hold fresh elections immediately.
Separately, it emerged that former president Asif Ali Zardari held a telephonic conversation with Fazl and former prime minister Nawaz Sharif to discuss the opposition’s future course of action on Friday.
According to party sources, the three leaders came to an agreement wherein it was decided that it was time for fresh polls and Prime Minister Imran must resign immediately.
Thanking both party leaders for their support for Gilani’s victory as the joint PDM candidate, Zardari said that the PDM had ensured the defeat of the PTI candidate and exposed the government with its political strategy.
During the conversation, the leaders also decided that the nominee for the Senate chairman slot would be finalised after consultations with the PDM member parties.
On the other side of the board, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Minister for Work and Culture Shaukat Yousafzai expressed confidence about the upcoming confidence vote and said that the entire nation stands united with Prime Minister Imran.
The majority of members of the NA will repose trust in him during the vote of confidence on Saturday (March 6), he maintained.
In a statement issued on Friday, he said that the prime minister is an honest and brave politician therefore the whole nation supports him and have confidence in his leadership.
Criticising the opposition parties, Shaukat Yousafzai said that they first looted the country and used to call thief each other, but now they have gathered under the PDM umbrella to attain their ulterior motives.
Prime Minister Imran is a great hurdle in their way as their motive is to steal resources of the country, he added.
The provincial minister said both Zardari and Nawaz had never thought that someone will take actions against them and make them accountable.
Lauding the policies of the incumbent government, he said that despite the negative impact on commercial activities because of coronavirus, economic indicators are showing progress because of the prudent policies of Prime Minister Imran who kept the wheel of the economy rolling.
PTI, Shaukat Yousafzai continued, is not fighting the war of Imran Khan, but it is the fight for the cause of the poor strata of Pakistan.
PM Imran is fighting for the right and empowerment of poor people who are getting under burdened in the debt trap because of the bad policies of the past regimes.
The leadership of opposition parties remained in power for decades turn by turn, but not tolerating the PTI in power for a single parliamentary term.
Referring to recent Senate polls, the provincial minister said that Gillani was made a Senate member by spending billions of rupees to protect the interest of Zardari.
Its time to wake up Mister Khan. Boots can’t keep you in power for long.