Launching a frontal attack on Imran Khan on Sunday, PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari accused him of forcing the Speaker to violate the Constitution of Pakistan. He came down heavily on the fact that the session of the National Assembly was convened on March 25, more than 14 days after a requisition of the session was filed by the opposition. While Article 54 of the country’s Constitution mandated Speaker Asad Qaisar to call the session within the 14-day time limit, i.e by March 22, he attributed the delay to renovation work at the Parliament.
Addressing a press conference, “Bilawal Bhutto Zardari remarked, “Who is running away? The coward captain is running away from the no-confidence motion. He is running away to the extent that he got the Speaker to violate the Constitution. The captain who is winning doesn’t run away from a match. He is running away because he can foresee his defeat.”
“As per Pakistan’s Constitution, the Speaker has to convene the session within 14 days. There is a precedent in Pakistan that the voting usually takes place even before 14 days. When a no-confidence motion was tabled against Shaheed Benazir Bhutto, voting took place on the 7th day from the motion being presented,” the opposition leader added. On this occasion, he stressed that the opposition would argue its case before the Supreme Court which is hearing a plea seeking to prevent anarchy ahead of the no-confidence motion against Imran Khan.
Imran Khan’s test of survival
After completing three and a half years in power, the Imran Khan-led government is under fire over the surging inflation, increasing debt, misgovernance and mishandling of foreign policy which is reflected in the stalling of CPEC projects and US President Joe Biden’s snub. On March 8, Pakistan’s main opposition parties filed a no-confidence motion against Khan. As PTI has only 155 members in the 342-member National Assembly, the government’s survival depends on the support of allies such as MQM-P (7 seats), BAP (5 seats), PML(Q) (5 seats), GDA (3 seats), AML (1 seat), JWP (1 seat) and 2 Independents.
On the other hand, the opposition has a total of 162 seats. As it requires at least 172 out of 342 votes to topple the Imran Khan-led government, the opposition has reached out to PML(Q), BAP and MQM-P. Moreover, 13 PTI MPs have openly expressed displeasure with the government’s functioning and are likely to vote against the 1992 World Cup-winning captain. Amid the political turmoil, PTI has made it abundantly clear that Imran Khan will not step down as the PM in lieu of allies supporting its government.
Launching a frontal attack on Imran Khan on Sunday, PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari accused him of forcing the Speaker to violate the Constitution of Pakistan. He came down heavily on the fact that the session of the National Assembly was convened on March 25, more than 14 days after a requisition of the session was filed by the opposition. While Article 54 of the country’s Constitution mandated Speaker Asad Qaisar to call the session within the 14-day time limit, i.e by March 22, he attributed the delay to renovation work at the Parliament. Addressing a press conference, “Bilawal Bhutto Zardari remarked, “Who is running away? The coward captain is running away from the no-confidence motion. He is running away to the extent that he got the Speaker to violate the Constitution. The captain who is winning doesn’t run away from a match. He is running away because he can foresee his defeat.” “As per Pakistan’s Constitution, the Speaker has to convene the session within 14 days. There is a precedent in Pakistan that the voting usually takes place even before 14 days. When a no-confidence motion was tabled against Shaheed Benazir Bhutto, voting took place on the 7th day from the motion being presented,” the opposition leader added. On this occasion, he stressed that the opposition would argue its case before the Supreme Court which is hearing a plea seeking to prevent anarchy ahead of the no-confidence motion against Imran Khan. Imran Khan’s test of survival After completing three and a half years in power, the Imran Khan-led government is under fire over the surging inflation, increasing debt, misgovernance and mishandling of foreign policy which is reflected in the stalling of CPEC projects and US President Joe Biden’s snub. On March 8, Pakistan’s main opposition parties filed a no-confidence motion against Khan. As PTI has only 155 members in the 342-member National Assembly, the government’s survival depends on the support of allies such as MQM-P (7 seats), BAP (5 seats), PML(Q) (5 seats), GDA (3 seats), AML (1 seat), JWP (1 seat) and 2 Independents. On the other hand, the opposition has a total of 162 seats. As it requires at least 172 out of 342 votes to topple the Imran Khan-led government, the opposition has reached out to PML(Q), BAP and MQM-P. Moreover, 13 PTI MPs have openly expressed displeasure with the government’s functioning and are likely to vote against the 1992 World Cup-winning captain. Amid the political turmoil, PTI has made it abundantly clear that Imran Khan will not step down as the PM in lieu of allies supporting its government.