ISLAMABAD/LAHORE: Prime Minister Imran Khan Saturday announced electoral reforms as he won the crucial confidence vote in the National Assembly on Saturday, hanging on to power after his finance adviser Abdul Hafeez Sheikh lost the high-stakes Senate seat election earlier in the week.
Needing the support of 172 MPs in the 342-seat House to retain its confidence, the prime minister secured 178 votes. His party has 157 members in the House.
The breakdown suggested some 155 PTI MPs voted in favour of the prime minister.
From the coalition partners, seven MPs from the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P), five each from the Balochistan Awami Party (BAP) and the Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q), three from Grand Democratic Alliance (GDA) and one each from the Awami Muslim League (AML) and the Jamhoori Watan Party (JWP) voted to support Imran.
An independent MP, Aslam Bhotani, also reaffirmed confidence in the prime minister.
VOTE REFORMS:
In a charged speech following the trust motion, Imran said his government was “doing things” to bring about substantial improvements in the country’s electoral system.
The government, he said, was engaged with Pakistan nationals abroad to let them vote electronically in elections.
He also announced to introduce “electronic machines […] so that the contestant who loses, accepts defeat gracefully.”
SENATE ELECTIONS:
The prime minister renewed his criticism of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) for failing to curb the menace of horsetrading during the Senate elections.
Referring to Wednesday’s elections for the Upper House, the premier said despite everyone knowing that money changed hands for the buying and selling of hopefuls in the run-up to the poll, the commission insisted it carried out a “good election”.
“If this is what a good election looks like, I wonder what is a bad election?” he said. “I ask the ECP to take a briefing from intelligence agencies to learn how much money was involved in the [Senate] elections.”
Imran said it was embarrassing the way elections were held in Pakistan. Naming Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Co-chairperson Asif Ali Zardari, the premier observed he was commonly referred to in phrases such as “aik Zardari, sab pe bhari (one Zardari wins over all).”
But in the West, he is remembered as “Mr ten per cent” because of his corrupt practices. Films and documentaries have been on his corruption, the prime minister lamented.
He observed deposed prime minister and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supreme leader Nawaz Sharif had faked sickness to go to London to avoid the legal consequences of his corruption.
ECONOMIC RECOVERY:
Observing the public has been suffering from rising prices of commodities, the prime minister said: “We are on a way to economic recovery.”
The current account, he observed, is improving constantly and now even the rupee is strengthening against the dollar without government intervention [to artificially inflate the value of currency].
Imran said the biggest pressure on the government was to control the growing inflation which he attributed to the overvaluation of the rupee in the previous tenures.
Between 2013 and 2018, the rupee’s official exchange rate was supported by the central bank under a de facto managed float system and many analysts considered the currency to be overvalued.
“But my team and my government are taking every possible step to arrest the inflation and we will keep working,” he assured the House.
‘OPP BLACKMAILED GOVT FOR NRO’:
The prime minister also accused the opposition parties of blackmail the government for an NRO-like concession at the expense of national interest.
Naming once again Zardari and Sharif, he said the “thieves” were blackmailing his government to secure legal concessions.
“These people [opposition] even tried to sabotage FATF [Financial Action Task Force] legislation and had linked passing of the FATF-asked legislation to amendments in the NAB law [to defang the watchdog],” the prime minister said.
He regretted the opposition had put the country at stake to get rid of corruption cases registered against them.
‘MOST CORRUPT’ GILLANI:
In his speech, Imran rounded on former prime minister and PPP leader Yousaf Raza Gillani, who defeated PTI candidate Sheikh in the Senate elections, and said he was one of the most corrupt politicians in the country.
“Just look at his [Gilani’s] wealth before he became the prime minister [in 2008] and compare it with his assets after he assumed the PM Office. The picture will be clear [to you],” the prime minister said.
He observed future generations can only be saved if the nation gets rid of the menace of corruption.
THE SESSION:
The session began at 12:15 pm with a single-point agenda to reaffirm confidence in Imran, according to a National Assembly Secretariat statement.
Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi tabled the resolution in the House. The resolution reads: “That this House reposes confidence in the Prime Minister of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, Mr Imran Khan, as required under clause (7) of Article 91 of the Constitution Islamic Republic of Pakistan.”
The prime minister had decided to take the vote on Wednesday (March 3) following the Senate elections wherein his party faced the unexpected defeat of Sheikh.
“Imran Khan and the party has reached a consensus decision that the prime minister will take a vote of confidence from the Assembly,” Qureshi had told a news conference later on Wednesday.
Imran made his decision after claims emerged that some MPs from Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) had been bribed by the opposition alliance to vote for former prime minister Yousaf Raza Gillani, who was fielded by Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) from Islamabad against Sheikh, in the Senate elections. He had defeated Sheikh by 169 to 164 votes.
This is the first time a prime minister has undertaken such an exercise after the passage of the 18th Amendment in the Constitution in 2010.
Prior to the 18th amendment, the law required every prime minister to take a vote of confidence from the Assembly within 30 days of being elected.
However, following the amendment, the law does not require such a practice. In fact, according to clause 7 of Article 91 of the Constitution, the president “shall not exercise his powers under this clause unless he is satisfied that the prime minister does not command the confidence of the majority” in the House.
“I’m going to seek a confidence motion a day after tomorrow,” Imran had said in a televised address to the nation on Thursday.
“This is your democratic right […] just raise your hands that you don’t have confidence and I will go into the opposition [benches],” he had said.
SPEAKER CONVEYS TO ALVI:
Meanwhile, NA Speaker Asad Qaiser conveyed to President Dr Arif Alvi that the premier has successfully got the vote of confidence.
In an official communication through a letter, the speaker said, “He [PM Imran Khan] has the support of the majority of the National Assembly.”
The letter to the president further read that the vote of confidence was sought from the lawmakers under Section 7 of Article 91 of the Constitution of Pakistan.
PM Imran the Great. Black day for Indians and Patwaris.
Once upon a time a Sheep Head unable to ascertain how many sheep tails are behind him, what to do when he shifts its head and tail all other sheep also shifting & sifting their tails also. So, confused brain struck SH taken all of them to a butcher’s shop and asked them to pass below a butcher’s knife. That night SH IK slept keeping his hands on his chest with black magic ring in middle finger vigorously dedicated to its thrice experienced wolf wife ?