Pak Opposition to boycott Parliament session on PM Khan’s vote
In relief for Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan, on the eve of a vote of confidence in his government, the Opposition alliance announced on Friday that they will boycott the soil test, claiming that the victory of their candidate in the elections to the Senate was itself a “no-confidence move” against the prime minister.
The head of the Pakistan Democratic Movement, Maulana Fazlur Rehman, said that no member of the opposition will attend the National Assembly session scheduled for Saturday, in which Prime Minister Khan will seek a vote of confidence.
The announcement by the head of the PDM, a 10-party opposition alliance, comes after Khan delivered a speech to the nation, explaining why he was seeking a vote of confidence in the wake of the Senate elections in which the opposition won. organize a disgusted.
PDM candidate and former prime minister Yusuf Raza Gilani defeated Pakistan’s ruling Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) candidate Abdul Hafeez Shaikh on Wednesday in a major blow to Khan, who had personally campaigned for his colleague from cabinet.
Rehman said that “Gilani’s victory was itself a vote of no confidence against Khan.”
He claimed that President Arif Alvi, in his notice to convene Saturday’s session, had essentially stated that Prime Minister Khan had “lost the confidence of the majority” and therefore needed to seek a vote of confidence.
“So, when the president speaks of losing confidence to convene the session of the National Assembly, this further strengthens the position of the Opposition,” he was quoted by the newspaper Dawn.
Prime Minister Khan called a meeting of his allies on Friday to reaffirm his strategy, a day before seeking a vote of confidence from the National Assembly following a key defeat in this week’s tight Senate elections.
Khan needs the support of 171 lawmakers in the National Assembly, which currently has 341 members out of 342, as one seat is vacant.
Khan’s PTI has 157 legislators. The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz Opposition has 83 members and the Pakistan People’s Party has 55 legislators. PTI leaders have said they are confident Khan will pass the floor test.
Science Minister Fawad Chaudhry said Khan will easily win the vote of confidence as PTI Senate candidate Fouzia Arshad got 174 votes on Wednesday and won in the house where Shaikh got 164 votes and was defeated.
“The necessary support is available and Khan will win easily,” he said.
Meanwhile, Pakistan’s electoral commission on Friday expressed shock and disappointment at Prime Minister Khan’s accusations against it, stating that the Senate elections were conducted in accordance with the Constitution and that it “has never been under any form of pressure and God willing, he will not do it in the future as well. ”
The strong comments were made by the Pakistan Election Commission (ECP) in a statement following a crucial meeting of its members to review Prime Minister Khan’s remarks against him on Thursday in an address to the nation.
The meeting was called by the Chief Elections Commissioner, Sikandar Sultan Raja.
Prime Minister Khan lashed out at the electoral commission, which he said failed to stop corruption in Wednesday’s tight Senate elections.
“You (ECP) discredited democracy … damaged the morality of the nation by doing nothing to stop vote buying,” he alleged.
In its response, the ECP said, “This is the beauty of democracy and independent elections and the secret ballot that the entire nation witnessed, which was in accordance with the Constitution.”
Rejecting Khan’s accusations, the commission said it “has never been under any kind of pressure and God willing, it won’t in the future either.”
“We cannot ignore the law and the Constitution to please anyone,” the ECP said in its statement.
Urging his critics to present evidence of the wrongdoings of the ECP, he asked them not to allow themselves the mud of national institutions.
.
She is a freelance blogger, writer, and speaker, and writes for various entertainment magazines.