— Sharif, Qureshi submit nominations for prime minister election
— Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Ahsan Iqbal exchange harsh words
ISLAMABAD: Following the ouster of Imran Khan as prime minister after he lost a no-confidence vote in Parliament, the National Assembly (NA) session to elect the new premier will be held today (Monday) at 2pm.
The session was earlier supposed to start at 11am on Monday.
According to the NA secretariat, the aspirant candidates can file their nomination papers for the top slot till 2pm today (Sunday). The nomination papers will be scrutinised till 3pm today.
According to the new schedule, the election for the new prime minister will take place at 2pm on Monday.
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) vice-chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Shehbaz Sharif, candidates for the next prime minister, filed nomination papers on Sunday after incumbent Imran Khan lost a no-confidence vote in National Assembly.
Qureshi submitted four forms with the National Assembly Secretariat, while Sharif, the unified opposition’s candidate for the post, filed 13.
Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Ahsan Iqbal exchange heated words
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) senior leader and former foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz leader Ahsan Iqbal exchanged heated words while submitting nomination papers for the post of prime minister.
Following the success of the no-confidence motion against Imran Khan in the National Assembly, nomination papers have been submitted by the United Opposition and Pakistan Tehreek for the election of a new prime minister of Pakistan.
Shah Mahmood Qureshi is the prime ministerial candidate from Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) while Shahbaz Sharif will be the PML-N candidate from the united opposition.
During the submission of nomination papers, Shah Mahmood and Ahsan Iqbal had a bitter exchange. Ahsan Iqbal told the PTI leader that “you are no longer the foreign minister”.
In reply to Ahsan Iqbal, Shah Mahmood Qureshi said that you are addicted to power, you are not a candidate, please get out of the room.
The nomination papers of joint opposition candidate Shehbaz Sharif and PTI’s Qureshi have been approved for the prime minister’s election scheduled on Monday (today).
Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President Shehbaz Sharif and former foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi earlier submitted nomination papers for the election of prime minister following ouster of Imran Khan.
Khan had clung on for almost a week after a united opposition first tried to remove him, managing to put off the no-confidence vote, which he said was part of a foreign-backed plot against him, and dissolving parliament.
But the Supreme Court ordered National Assembly to convene and hold the vote and Khan’s government fell in the early hours of Sunday after a 13-hour session that included repeated delays and lengthy speeches by lawmakers from his party.
The vote went ahead after the army chief, General Qamar Javed Bajwa, met Khan, said two sources who declined to be identified, as criticism mounted over the delay in the process.
Opposition parties were able to secure 174 votes in the 342-member National Assembly for the no-confidence motion, giving them the majority they needed.
Khan has not commented publicly on his ouster but even before the vote, he called for protests.
“I am going to struggle,” he said in an address to the nation on Friday.
“I tell all of my supporters across Pakistan, on Sunday, after Isha (evening) prayers, you all have to come out of your homes and protest peacefully against this imported government that is trying to come to power.”
Imran Khan loses no-confidence vote
In a historic first for Pakistan, Imran Khan was ousted as the prime minister of Pakistan from office through a no-confidence motion after the NA debated on the matter for more than 12 hours and the political situation in the country took a critical turn Saturday night.
The session was chaired by Ayaz Sadiq — a member of the panel of chairs — after speaker Asad Qasier resigned from his post.
“174 members have recorded their votes in favour of the resolution, consequently the resolution for the vote on no-confidence against Mr Imran Khan, the prime minister of Pakistan, has been passed by a majority,” Ayaz Sadiq announced after the process of voting was completed.
‘NEW DAWN’
The front-runner to become the next prime minister, Sharif, said Khan’s departure was a chance for a new beginning.
“A new dawn has started … This alliance will rebuild Pakistan,” Sharif told parliament on Sunday.
Sharif was for years chief minister of Punjab and has a reputation as an effective administrator.
His first tasks will be to repair relations with the military as well as a key ally the United States, and tend to a stuttering economy.
The military viewed Khan and his conservative agenda favourably when he won the election in 2018, but that support waned after a falling-out over the appointment of the influential military intelligence chief.
Khan had antagonised the United States throughout his tenure, welcoming the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan last year and more recently accusing the United States of being behind the attempt to oust him.
Washington dismissed the accusation.
— With input from Reuters
