Prime Minister Imran Khan wants to know if Pakistan’s MNAs still trust him and are confident in his leadership.
A special session of the National Assembly has been called today (Saturday) in which Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi will table a vote of confidence resolution and 342 MNAs will express their opinion. The idea is simple: those who trust Imran Khan will vote in his favour.
Related: Senate Elections 2021: Yousuf Raza Gillani elected senator from Islamabad
The PM decided to hold a confidence poll after PTI’s candidate Abdul Hafeez Shaikh lost the Islamabad Senate seat to PDM’s Yousaf Raza Gillani by a difference of five votes. The feat was interesting because PTI’s Fozia Arshad—who also contested for the Islamabad seat— received 174 votes against PML-N’s Farzana Kausar.
The premier would require the support of 171 members—ideally it would be 172 members but Sialkot’s NA-75 seat is not being counted as the Election Commission has ordered re-polling there.
The session is expected to start at 12:15pm.
The PTI and its allies make up 180 members, while the opposition has 160 members.
It is being reported that MNA Faisal Vawda, who resigned after casting vote in the Senate election, may be able to cast his vote as Parliament has not de-seated him yet.
Opposition announces boycott
The opposition parties have, however, announced that they will boycott the National Assembly’s session.
Pakistan Democratic Movement’s Maulana Fazlur Rehman said that that the session will hold no value if the opposition members don’t attend it.
While speaking to the media on Friday, he asked how is Imran Khan seeking a vote of confidence from the same parliamentarians he accused of taking bribes.
Vote of confidence: A brief history
This will be the second time a Pakistani prime minister has taken a vote of confidence from parliament.
Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif had taken a confidence vote on May 27, 1993 to see if he still has the support of parliamentarians after the Supreme Court overturned his dismissal by former president Ghulam Ishaq Khan.
At least 123 out of 200 MNAs voted in Nawaz’s favour. He secured enough votes to remain in power but the number had gone down from 1990—-when 153 MNAs had shown trust in his leadership. Those who didn’t vote for him included members of the JI and MQM.
According to SAMAA TV Islamabad bureau chief Khalid Azim Chaudhry, it was once a requirement under the law for all PMs to take a vote of confidence from the National Assembly within 60 days after taking the oath.
The law was changed after the 18th Amendment was passed. Under it, the following former PMs took the vote from the assembly:
- Muhammad Khan Junejo
- Nawaz Sharif
- Benazir Bhutto
- Zafarullah Khan Jamali
- Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain
- Shaukat Aziz
- Yousaf Raza Gillani
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