Islamabad: Pakistan's Opposition parties on Tuesday submitted a no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Imran Khan to remove him from office after holding his government responsible for the uncontrolled inflation, prompting him to dismiss the move and flaunt his closeness to the powerful army.
The motion, signed by about 100 lawmakers from the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), was submitted with the National Assembly Secretariat, PML-N spokesperson Marriyum Aurangzeb said.
"We have taken this decision for the people of Pakistan and not for ourselves," PML-N president and Leader of the Opposition Shehbaz Sharif, who was flanked by former president and PPP co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman, told a press conference.
As per rules, signatures of at least 68 Members of Parliament were required to force the Speaker to summon a session, which should be convened between three to seven days to conduct a vote on a no-confidence motion.
In the house of 342, the opposition needed the support of 172 members to remove the Prime Minister and his cabinet.
Khan, 69, is heading a coalition government and he can be removed if some of the partners decide to switch sides, which is not unusual in parliamentary democracies.
Reacting to the opposition move, Prime Minister Khan said that the country's powerful army was with him and he was confident that the government was not going anywhere.
"The army stands with me, it will never support thieves (...) and since the people are not backing the Opposition anymore, they are claiming that the establishment is supporting them," he said.
The powerful army, which has ruled Pakistan for more than half of its 73 plus years of existence, has hitherto wielded considerable power in the matters of security and foreign policy.
"After this, nothing will happen against this government till 2028 (...) Opposition will face a humiliating defeat," the prime minister said.
"My lawmakers are being offered Rs180 million (for supporting no-confidence motion). I told them to take the money and distribute it among the poor," he claimed.
Echoing the ruling party's narrative of international conspiracy behind attempts seeking his removal, Khan said people who do not want an independent foreign policy would support the no-confidence motion.
Khan had said he was ready for everything the Opposition threw at him.
"The powerful desires (national reconciliation ordinance) and threaten to topple the government if they don't get it but I will not give them that as long as I am alive," Khan said.
Opposition parties blame Khan's government for uncontrolled inflation that has broken the back of poor people of the country, while Khan accuses them of trying to remove as he was not willing to condone the alleged corruption by the leading opposition leaders.
Addressing the joint press conference, Zardari said that a lot of people, even leaders from the ruling party, were upset due to the poor performance of the government. "We have the support of more than 272 members and our move will succeed,? he said.
When asked about the new prime minister if the opposition succeeded to topple the Khan government, Rehman said that opposition parties would decide the new leader with consultation.
Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid said that the move by the opposition would fail. "They will bite the dust and it will be their (opposition) historic defeat,” he said.
Meanwhile, Khan's close aide Aleem Khan announced that he would be joining hands with disgruntled party leader Jahangir Tareen, prompting the panic-stricken prime minister to dispatch Sindh Governor Imran Ismail to Lahore to pacify the former Punjab minister.
Khan summoned the Attorney General of Pakistan at the Prime Minister's House to discuss legal aspects after the Opposition tabled the no-trust move against him. According to sources, the AGP briefed the premier regarding the legal implications of the move.
Last year, Khan got 178 votes when he had decided to seek a vote of confidence after a candidate supported by his party lost the Senate election.
On paper, Khan still enjoys that support, comprising 155 members of his Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf and 23 from coalition partners, including seven from Mutahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), five each from Pakistan Muslim League (PML) and Balochistan Awami Party (BAP), three from Grand Democratic Alliance (GDA), one each from Awami Muslim League (AML) and Jamhoori Watan Party (JWP) and one independent member.
The total opposition number is 163, including 84 from PML-N, 56 PPP, 15 Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal Pakistan, four Balochistan National Party (BNP), one Awami National Party (ANP) and three independent lawmakers.
The Opposition has claimed that they have the backing of 28 lawmakers of the ruling party and others from an ally of the government.
Khan, a former cricketer, came to power in 2018 and elections are to be held in 2023 if he succeeded to ward off the challenge of no-trust move.
He had promised to clean the country of corruption and create a new Pakistan.
Meanwhile, the Islamabad police have stopped PPP's Awami March at D Chowk from entering the federal capital.
The party's spokesperson said the convoy was stopped by the police after which PPP's Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari refused to proceed without the full convoy. PPP's long march, which started from Karachi last month, is scheduled to enter Islamabad on Tuesday night.
