At the beginning of the session, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM) on Babar Awan moved a motion to adjourn the session so the assembly hall could be used for the Parliamentary Committee on National Security’s meeting that was scheduled at 6pm. The motion was rejected after voting. Subsequently, the deputy speaker opened the floor for questions. The opposition MNAs, however, continued to insist the Speaker call for a vote on the no-confidence motion on the day itself amid chants of “go Imran go”, the Dawn reported. Terming the opposition’s attitude “non-serious”, Suri adjourned the session till Sunday when the vote on the no-confidence motion is expected to take place.
He also announced the meeting of the parliamentary committee to be held. The resolution against embattled Imran Khan was tabled by the Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Shehbaz Sharif on March 28 and it was approved for debate the very same day. According to a 24-point agenda issued ahead of the session, the debate on the no-trust motion against Khan was fourth in order. On Wednesday, Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry said Prime Minister Imran Khan had decided to present a ‘secret letter’ — purportedly containing details of a “foreign conspiracy” to topple his government — during an in-camera session of the NA or a joint session of parliament, however, no date for when such a session would be called was given.
Khan hopes that after becoming aware of the alleged letter’s contents, his party dissidents, as well as disgruntled allies, would change their mind to vote in favour of the no-trust resolution. On Wednesday, Khan had shared the letter with the cabinet members in a hurriedly called meeting, which was not attended by its two major allies — Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) and Balochistan Awami Party (BAP) — despite being invited. He also called a selected group of TV anchors and informed them that “the language of the letter was threatening and arrogant” and that Pakistan would face dire consequences if the no-confidence motion failed. Following the premier’s decision to show the letter to parliamentarians, National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser on Thursday summoned a meeting of the Parliamentary Committee on National Security. In a statement, the National Assembly Secretariat said the meeting would be presided over by the speaker while the leaders of all parliamentary parties have also been invited to attend.
“A briefing on the secret letter will be given in the national security committee meeting,” according to the statement. PML-N president Shehbaz Sharif, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed, PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, MQM-P convener Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui — all of whom are among members of the committee — have been invited to attend the meeting. Amongst those specially invited are Defence Minister Pervez Khattak, Planning and Development Minister Asad Umar, Human Rights Minister Shireen Mazari, Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry, National Security Adviser Moeed Yusuf, BAP Senator Sarfaraz Ahmed Bugti, MNA Ramesh Kumar Vankwani, MNA Makhdoom Hussain Qureshi and MNA Amer Ali Khan Magsi. PPP Senator Sherry Rehman on Thursday said the NA speaker had no “constitutional” or “moral” justification to delay voting on the no-trust motion and demanded that it be held on the day, the Dawn reported.
In a series of tweets, she said that Imran Khan’s “artificial” majority had now turned into a minority. “If the no-confidence vote is held, today will be the last day of Imran Khan’s selected government. What unseen help is Imran Khan waiting for?”
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