No-trust bid to fail due to trust deficit within opposition ranks: Umar

Planning minister says opposition parties should keep an eye on each other instead of making ‘futile attempts’

Planning Minister Asad Umar has said that opposition parties instead of making a “futile” attempt to bring a no-confidence motion against the government of Prime Minister Imran Khan should keep an eye on each other owing to “trust deficit” within their ranks.

Addressing the media in Punjab’s small town Uch Sharif on Sunday, the minister said the parliament had approved a number of bills introduced by the government despite opposition’s protest. He also referred to the SBP Amendment Bill, which was recently bulldozed in the opposition-dominated Senate.

“The opposition parties should worry about their own members as they are unable to control them,” he remarked.

Umar said the attempts being made by the joint opposition alliance, PDM, to de-seat Prime Minister Imran Khan through a no-trust move in National Assembly was bound to fail like previous such bids.

Also read: PTI MPs waiting for ‘signals’ to jump ship: Abbasi

Earlier this week, JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman, who also heads the PDM, announced that constituent parties of the alliance had agreed on bringing a no-confidence motion against the "incompetent" government, adding that the allies of the ruling party would also be approached in this connection.

On Saturday, PML-N leader and former premier Shahid Khaqan Abbasi claimed that over 22 MNAs belonging to the ruling party were willing to pedal into the folds of the opposition but would not do so as long as the “state” backed the incumbent government — a tacit reference to the “establishment”.

The former premier’s claim has snowballed into controversy and is likely to seed grounds for another searing chapter of a political slugfest as the opposition is already engaged in meetings with the coalition partners in efforts to buttress its force against the government.

Speaking about other issues, Umar said that the performance of the ruling PTI was better than the previous governments and PM Imran Khan was “working day and night” for the development of the country.

On rising inflation, the minister said the issue was not only limited to Pakistan rather it was a global phenomenon but assured that the government was making all-out efforts to provide relief to the masses.