IMRAN KHAN-LED GOVT FALLS IN PAKISTAN; LOSES NO-TRUST VOTE

Sat 09 April 2022:

The opposition’s no-trust motion against Prime Minister Imran Khan succeeded an hour past midnight on Sunday, with 174 members in the 342-strong house voting in favour of the motion.

PML-N’s Ayaz Sadiq, who was chairing the session, announced the result.

Minutes before voting began, National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser resigned from his post, saying he could not take part in a foreign conspiracy to oust the prime minister.

Before announcing his resignation, Qaiser said that he had received “important documents” from the cabinet, which he invited the leader of the opposition and the Chief Justice of Pakistan to see.

“In line with our laws and the need to stand for our country, I have decided that I can’t remain on the position of speaker and thereby resign,” he said.

“Because this is a national duty and it is the Supreme Court’s decision, I will ask the panel chairman Ayaz Sadiq to run the session,” Qaiser said.

After Sadiq took the chair, he paid tribute to Qaiser for remaining with his party and opting for an “honourable exit”.

“He [Qaiser] had a very good relationship with all of us, a working relationship. He tried to conduct all these proceedings with dignity and together with the opposition.”

Then, Sadiq asked for bells to be rung in the house for five minutes to notify members that the voting process was about to begin, after which the doors of the assembly were closed.

Voting on the resolution then began at 11:58pm, and members in favour of the resolution were asked to exit the gate Sadiq’s left. Sadiq then adjourned the session for four minutes since according to rules, the same session cannot continue past midnight.

The new session then began at 12:02am, with recitation of the Holy Quran and naat. Following that, the voting process continued, with lawmakers confirming their votes by writing their name in a register placed near one of the assembly doors.

Bells were then rung for another two minutes to signal that voting had ended and members returned to their seats.

Earlier, the session, called to decide the fate of Prime Minister Imran Khan through a no-confidence motion, was adjourned multiple times before voting on the resolution could take place.

The last adjournment was the fourth of the day as the opposition’s clamour for immediate voting throughout the day had fallen on deaf ears amid lengthy speeches delivered from treasury members on the floor of the house.

NA Speaker Asad Qaiser was chairing the session when it began at 10:30am sharp in the morning, in accordance with the Supreme Court’s directives, and with the recitation of the Holy Quran. It was followed by the national anthem and prayers for the recently deceased mother of MNA Shazia Sobia.

However, Amjad Ali Khan Niazi chaired the session for a brief period when it resumed after the first adjournment before Qaiser returned. The post-Iftar session was again chaired by Niazi.

Voting on the no-confidence motion against the prime minister is the fourth item on the day’s agenda but it has yet to happen. PML-N MNA Rana Sanaullah, while talking to reporters, claimed that it had been agreed with the speaker to conduct the vote tonight after Iftar. However, when the opposition enquired about it after Iftar, it was told that the prime minister had not agreed to it, Sanaullah added.

While the opposition came out in full force for the session this morning, very few members of the treasury benches were in attendance before the session was adjourned. Prime Minister Imran Khan was also not present.

The opposition needs the support of at least 172 lawmakers from a total of 342 to oust the premier through the no-trust move.

A meeting was held between the treasury and opposition benches in the speaker’s chamber after the session was adjourned for the first time in the day, where the latter called for holding proceedings according to the Supreme Court’s directives.

Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi and PTI leader Amir Dogar participated from the government’s side while Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, Rana Sanaullah, Ayaz Sadiq, Naveed Qamar and Maulana Asad Mahmood represented the opposition.

Following this, a meeting of the opposition’s parliamentary group was called at the opposition leader’s chamber. PML-N’s Khawaja Saad Rafique, speaking in the NA after the adjournment, said that the speaker had promised that voting would be held after Iftar.

Separately, the government sent a review petition to the apex court against its decision to set aside the deputy speaker’s April 3 ruling. The petition, however, is yet to be filed since the officers of the court did not process it on receipt as they close early in Ramazan. According to the PTI’s counsel Azhar Siddique, it will be processed on Monday.

DAWN NEWS

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