Imran Khan on a Shaky Wicket, Fate of his Government to be Decided Later This Week
Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, March 28: A shaky Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan will face the heat of a no-confidence motion later this week which will decide the fate of the world cup winning cricket captain- turned-politician if he will stay in the office or will be forced to quit.
The no-confidence motion was tabled on Monday in the National Assembly by Leader of the Opposition and PML-N president Shehbaz Sharif, setting in motion the process in the lower house to remove from office the embattled prime minister.
As the much-anticipated session began after a two-day recess on Monday, Deputy Speaker Qasim Khan Suri, who was in the chair, asked the members of the Parliament who are in favour of the motion, to stand up to that their numbers could be counted.in favour of moving the no-confidence motion to stand up for head counting. As 161 members supported, much more than the required number to move the motion, Sharif was allowed to table it.
After the motion was moved, Suri, who was officiating in the absence of the speaker Asad Qaidar, adjourned the House till 4 P.M. on March 31 when the motion would be taken up for debate and if necessary, voting.
As the strength of the respective parties in the House, Khan facing rebellion within a section of his own Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaaf (PTI) party and some allies of the ruling coalition, looked to be standing on a shaky ground and may not be able to weather the storm. Imran Khan needs 172 votes in the house of 342 to foil the bid. Since Khan’s allies with 23 members are still not committed to support him and about two dozen lawmakers from within the ruling PTI have revolted, the situation was still fluid.
Khan was meeting Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid, a key ally, while opposition was scheduled to hold a massive rally in the capital, as both side claims having numbers to succeed. The country plunged into uncertainty on March 8 after the combined opposition submitted the motion with the National Assembly along with a requisition to the speaker to summon the session within mandatory 14 days.
Though the session was called on March 25, three days after the deadline, the speaker refused to allow the motion to be tabled. Talking to media, Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid said the no-confidence resolution would be decided by March 31, adding that Prime Minister Khan was not going anywhere. “People must shun the idea that Imran’s politics is teetering on the brink, especially after his ‘great’ rally in Islamabad a day ago,” he said, and termed the move as “a conspiracy to weaken Pakistan.”
Rashid repeated Khan’s public address in which he had held the no-confidence motion against his government as an international conspiracy to topple his government. However, in response to a question Rashid said he has no idea about the letter that Khan had referred to in his speech. In a massive show of strength ahead of the crucial no-confidence motion against his government, Khan on Sunday addressed a mammoth rally in Islamabad where he claimed that foreign powers were involved in a conspiracy to topple his coalition government.
Khan had said foreign elements were using local politicians and money to “mend the country’s foreign policy” and asserted that he has a letter as ‘evidence’ to support his claims. Rashid also said the Prime Minister had rejected his proposal to call snap elections, dissolve the Punjab Assembly and impose governor’s rule in Sindh. He also said Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz had permission of Islamabad’s administration to hold a rally in the capital on Monday.
Rashid, a close aide of Khan, is regularly dishing out hope to the supporters of Khan, who got another jolt in the form of a no-confidence move filed against his protege and hand-picked Chief Minister of Punjab province, Usman Buzdar. According to an official hand-out issued by the provincial assembly secretariat, 127 provincial lawmakers signed the no-trust motion against Buzdar, while 120 signed the requisition notice to summon session within 14 days.
PML-N lawmaker Rana Mashhood said in a video that Buzdar can’t dissolve the assembly once the no-trust move is submitted. The political temperature in Pakistan has been slowly reaching a boiling point in the wake of the no-trust move by the Opposition. The Opposition parties are confident that they can get the support of 172 members in the house of 342 to dislodge the government, while the government claims that it enjoys the required support in the house to foil the attempt.
Imran Khan came to power in 2018 with promises to create a ‘Naya Pakistan’ but miserably failed to address the basic problem of keeping the prices of commodities in control, giving air to the sails of opposition ships to make war on his government. With major allies of Khan looking the other way and about two dozen PTI members of Parliament revolting against him, and the powerful establishment not providing a helping hand, he is less likely to get the support of the much-coveted 172 lawmakers. Khan, 69, is heading a coalition government with his PTI having 155 members.
