Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Shehbaz Sharif Thursday said that the NA Deputy Speaker Qasim Suri once again failed to follow the constitutional procedure by calling the debate session on the no-confidence motion off.
Addressing a press conference flanked by other joint Opposition leaders, including PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, Shehbaz said that when the deputy speaker saw that the members of the Parliament wanted to vote against the premier, “he ran away.”
He further said that the entire nation saw that 172 Opposition members were present in the house, however, the deputy speaker did not allow the voting. “The whole country is shocked, including the judiciary,” he maintained.
Today, as per the agenda of the National Assembly, a debate session was to be held on the no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Imran Khan after which — according to the law — the speaker has to hold voting within four days.
The Opposition leader further added that he, along with Bilawal, went to the NA secretary after the deputy speaker adjourned the session till April 3.
“The secretary informed us that the decision regarding not holding the debate related to the no-confidence motion was taken by the deputy speaker,” Shehbaz said.
Shehbaz questioned: “Does this “selected” prime minister have any constitutional or ethical justification left?”
He further added that the Opposition had decided not to take extreme measures which are against the law, adding that all members of the joint Opposition showed the Imran Khan-led government that his time is over and the “finishing line is near.”
Addressing the government’s allegations against former prime minister Nawaz Sharif regarding his involvement in “foreign conspiracy”, Shehbaz said that the people of Pakistan are “ashamed” of the word used by the premier.
“He [Imran Khan] stooped to the lowest level of impropriety by levelling baseless allegations against Nawaz, accusing him of having contacted Israeli intelligence agencies and inviting them to get involved in national matters of Pakistan,” he said.
At this, the Opposition leader questioned the premier regarding PTI’s foreign funding donors.
He said that according to the law regarding foreign funding, “you cannot take funds from foreign donors no matter what their religion or nationality is.”
“Your donors include Israelis and Indians, and you did not even declare your funds before the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) and State Bank of Pakistan (SBP),” he added.
Regarding the “threat letter”, Shehbaz said that it was a “fraud.” The PML-N leader demanded the premier declare the name of the country that had issued this “so-called threat.”
“I was sent a verbal invitation to the NA National Security Committee’s meeting which is not an ethical practice of the Parliament and hence, the joint Opposition decided to boycott the meeting,” he said.
Taking over the press conference, PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari said the Opposition had presented 172 lawmakers in the National Assembly which proves that PM Imran Khan has nowhere to “run”.
Bilawal said PM Imran Khan was pleading to everyone he could find to save his office, but “no one can help as there is no safe passage, face-saving, or a backdoor route to save him.”
But he said there is an honourable way for the prime minister: he should resign voluntarily.
“He should face us in the National Assembly, so we can take the country out of the political crisis.”
The PPP chairman said it was too late for the prime minister to secure a National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO), adding that the more he stays in power, the more it would “hurt the country”.
“Khan sahib’s steps are creating problems for the country. Pakistan’s foreign policy, economy, and institutions are hurting — and all these steps by the prime minister to just save his office are inappropriate,” he said.
Bilawal said the joint Opposition wants to tell the premier that the method through which he came into power was “controversial”, but the way he will be ousted will be democratic.
“We did not knock on the door of the courts and decided to opt for a democratic way […] please, PM Imran Khan, have some integrity and resign,” he added.
Moving on, JUI-F’s Asad Mahmood said that in the past, several prime ministers were removed from office and they are still searching for the reason for their ousters.
“…we, however, want this prime minister to know why he is being ousted […] but the speaker and deputy speaker did not want him to know the reason,” Mahmood said.
He hoped that the speaker and deputy speaker do not take the Constitution into their hands and allow the Opposition lawmakers to debate on the no-confidence motion.
The JUI-F leader, on the reports of the PTI gathering 100,000 supporters in Islamabad during the voting on the no-confidence motion, said the Opposition reserves the right of safeguarding its members.
“We will not only make the no-confidence motion successful, but we will also elect Shahbaz Sharif as the new prime minister,” Mahmood added. “More than his ouster, Imran Khan would be upset to see Shahbaz Sharif becoming the next premier.”
ANP’s Ameer Haider Hoti blamed the prime minister and PTI for the political crisis in the country, saying that the main characters behind it were the speaker and the deputy speaker.
“… if the prime minister really wants to resolve matters, then gathering one million people will not do it. He just needs the support of 172 lawmakers,” the ANP leader said.
He told the premier ghabrana nahi hai (to not panic), suggesting that he should either resign or hold voting on the no-confidence motion, as there was “no third option.”
Speaking on the occasion, BNP-M chief Akhtar Mengal said the united Opposition has proved that the majority is against the premier.
“Whether is a sports field or war zone, the captain is usually spotted in the front row; however, this time, the captain has been running away since day one,” he said, adding that when the captain runs away “what will the Army do?”
“The government has ridiculed the Constitution and turned the Parliament into a comedy theatre,” he said, adding that the PTI members lack ethics and principles because if they had any, [Imran Khan] would have resigned immediately.
