Fireworks expected today as no-trust motion on NA agenda

Fireworks are expected as the National Assembly meets on Friday (today) for an extraordinary session on the request of the joint opposition to begin the process for the no-confidence motion filed against Prime Minister Imran Khan.

The house will meet at 11am, with Speaker Asad Qaiser in the chair, according to the National Assembly Secretariat. The secretariat on Thursday night issued a 15-point agenda of the Friday’s session, which also included the no-confidence motion.

For the session, the opposition has finalised its strategy for not allowing any adjournment of the session without tabling of the motion. As per the house tradition, the speaker can adjourn the session by converting the meeting into a condolence reference on the demise of a ruling party member.

There is a strong possibility, according to sources, the opposition would lodge strong protests if the proceedings were adjourned. They added that the opposition would hold the power show in the house from Friday and had issued instructions to all its members to attend the meeting.

On the other hand, the sources added, the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) had not issued any special instructions to its members for attending the session. It is because the session had been requisitioned by the opposition.

The opposition, which has 162 members, filed the con-confidence motion on March 8. The motion, moved by 152 opposition members, said that Prime Minister Imran Khan had lost the confidence of the house. The ruling coalition currently has the support of 179 members of the National Assembly.

Also read: Opposition ‘in for a rude shock’: PM

Before the session, a meeting of the Pakistan Peoples Party Parliamentarians (PPPP) will be convened at the Zardari House in Islamabad with former president Asif Zardari and PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari in the char.

The PPP said in a statement that Zardari and Bilawal would give instructions to the PPPP lawmakers regarding the party’s strategy for the National Assembly session as well as the strategy for the no-confidence motion.

Talking to the media, PPP Senator Farhatullah Babar said that the joint opposition would also hold a parliamentary party meeting on Friday (today). He said that the speaker violated the law by not calling the session within the stipulated time, yet the opposition would join the proceedings anyway.

He added that the opposition had completed the numbers to win the no-confidence motion. “We have the numbers. PTI’s allies will support us on the no-confidence,” Babar told reporters. “When the voting takes place, everyone will be surprised. Maybe some ministers will also join us.”

According to the sources, the top leaders of the opposition met on Thursday night to give the final touches to their strategy for no-confidence motion. It was decided in the meeting that a meeting of the parliamentary parties of the opposition would be held one-hour before the assembly session.

The meeting at the residence of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President and National Assembly Opposition Leader Shehbaz Sharif was attended by Zardari, Bilawal, besides Jamialt Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl chief and President of Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) Maulana Fazlur Rehman.

The meeting was also attended by Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, Ahsan Iqbal, Saad Rafique, Khawaja Asif of the PML-N and Sherry Rehman and Rukhsana Bangash of the PPP. The participants discussed the no-confidence motion and the strategy for the assembly session, the sources added.

Also read: Experts say delaying no-trust vote may invoke Article 6

Separately, PML-N National Assembly member Shiza Fatima told The Express Tribune that they had received the agenda of the National Assembly session after 9 O’clock, and the opposition’s no-confidence motion was on it.

“The opposition will wait and see what happens after the condolence prayers in the house. In case the speaker announces adjournment of the proceedings for the day, the opposition will raise its objection to it and remind the speaker to perform his duties as per the assembly rules,” she said.

She added that the opposition did not have any plans for agitating, however, the final decision would be taken on the spot, considering the situation in the house. As of now, she said, other opposition parties also did not have any set plans for an in-house agitation.

(With additional input from Khalid Mehmood and Rameez Khan)