PM Shehbaz wins surprise vote of confidence

PM secures 180 votes, against the 172 required to achieve a simple majority

ISLAMABAD:

Fresh from taking the vote of confidence from the National Assembly on Thursday, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif vowed to always respect the decisions of parliament even if it meant his removal from the government.

The prime minister thanked the members of the lower house of parliament for reposing their confidence in his leadership and assured them that he would come up to their expectations and never undermine their trust.

The resolution for the vote of confidence was moved by Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari. When the resolution was presented for the vote, 180 lawmakers – eight more than the simple majority in the house -- supported it.

“Today, parliament has given me the vote of confidence. By God, if they oust me in response to this vote of confidence, I am ready to go back thousands of time but will not let them down,” Shehbaz told the house.

The vote of confidence came as parliament and the Supreme Court have come face to face over the issue of general elections for the Punjab Assembly. The apex court had ordered for the release of funds for the elections, but parliament had refused.

Also, the Supreme Court issued a stay order against a law passed earlier this month to handing powers of the chief justice regarding taking suo motu notice and forming benches, to a judges committee.

Shehbaz said that the court could not grant a stay on a law even before its finalisation. “Parliament’s dignity and constitutional status is being challenged. No one can grab parliament’s dignity and its constitutional powers,” he added.

“The framing and amending the Constitution is parliament’s right. Court has no power to rewrite the Constitution … If parliament raises its voice … the threat of contempt is given,” he remarked.

Referring to parliament’s decisions regarding the elections matters, the prime minister said he as well as the coalition government were bound to respect them. He reiterated that the government would only accept the 4-3 verdict of the Supreme Court on this issue.

He said Pakistan was faced with dire challenges just because of the previous government which was formed through rigged and “fraudulent” elections. In this regard, he also referred to the problems with the Result Transmission System (RTS) in 2018 elections.

The prime minister urged National Assembly Speaker Raja Pervaiz Ashraf to hold a probe into the suspension of the RTS system and unnecessary delay in declaring the election results during the last general elections.

Shehbaz accused Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman and former prime minister Imran Khan of undermining the country’s foreign relations and impeding the International Monetary Fund (IMF) deal to make the people of Pakistan suffer.

He highlighted the government efforts to overcome price hike. “A Russian cargo ship, carrying cheaper oil, is about to depart from Russia because of the government’s efforts, particularly the foreign and petroleum ministers,” he said.

Dilating on the leaked audio purportedly of former chief justice Saqib Nisar and lawyer Tariq Rahim, Shehbaz said that it badly exposed the former top judge as he was the one who stage-managed the 2018 election for the PTI and destroying institutions.

He questioned why the apex court was only concerned only about the elections in Punjab and not Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. “Wouldn’t the elections only in Punjab impact the elections in other provinces, later,” he asked further.

The prime minister also decried what he called “double standards”, saying that PTI chief got eight bails within “eight minutes”, on the other hand, the arrest warrants were issued against the leaders of other parties just for appearing late in accountability courts.

He told the House that despite serious reservations of some of the leaders, the coalition government had agreed to hold dialogue with the PTI through the Senate chairman on a single day election across Pakistan.

The vote of confidence move came as a surprise for many, as only a few days ago, information minister Marriyum Aurangzeb had clarified that no such move was being planned by the ruling coalition.

The resolution moved by the foreign minister stated: “The National Assembly of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan reposes its full confidence in the leadership of Mian Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif, as the Prime Minister of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.”

After the resolution was moved, voting was conducted with lawmakers in favour of the resolution rising from their seats. Subsequently, Speaker Raja Pervaiz Ashraf announced that 180 members of the House had risen from their seats in favour of the resolution.

“Mian Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif has obtained the vote of confidence from the National Assembly and commands the confidence of the majority of the members of the National Assembly as prime minister of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan,” he said.

In a tribute of former religious affairs minister Mufti Abdul Shakoor, who passed away in a road accident in Islamabad earlier this month, Ashraf said if the late Mufti Abdul Shakoor was alive today, the prime minister would have got 181 votes in his support.

During the voting process, Maulana Abdul Akbar Chitrali of the Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) remained absent from the house, while the dissident PTI lawmakers and those from the Grand Democratic Alliance (GDA) did not participate in the voting.

After the passing of the resolution, the prime minister said in a tweet that he was grateful to the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) parliamentary party, and the leadership and legislators of coalition parties for their continued trust in him.