Tag: no-trust move

  • Stab in the back? PTI, PML-Q’s MPAs contact PML-N’s Opposition ahead of no-confidence against CM Elahi

    Stab in the back? PTI, PML-Q’s MPAs contact PML-N’s Opposition ahead of no-confidence against CM Elahi

    Several members of the Provincial Assembly (MPAs) of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) have approached the Opposition in Punjab Assembly ahead of the no-confidence session against Chief Minister (CM) Pervaiz Elahi, reports ARY News.

    According to the news outlet, a total of 11 lawmakers contacted the Opposition and they reportedly planned to skip CM Elahi’s trust vote session.

    Earlier, senior Vice President of PTI, Fawad Chaudhry, announced that Elahi will get a vote of confidence from the provincial assembly before January 11.

    Punjab Assembly Speaker Sibtain Khan has already summoned a session of the assembly on Jan 11.

    The magic number required to show a majority in the assembly is 186. However, it has been claimed by PTI that the coalition government in Punjab has the support of 187 lawmakers.

    If the news is to be believed, the joint alliance of Punjab will have the support of 176 members on the day of no-confidence session.

  • ‘Elahi has lost confidence’: No trust-motion submitted against Punjab CM

    ‘Elahi has lost confidence’: No trust-motion submitted against Punjab CM

    The Opposition in Punjab Assembly (PA) submitted a no-confidence motion against Punjab Chief Minister (CM) Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi in the late hours of Monday.

    The magic number required to show majority in the assembly is 186 with Elahi seemingly ahead in numbers. Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has the support of 180 members while Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) has the backing of its 10 members, taking the government alliance in Punjab to a total of 190 Members of the Provincial Assembly (MPAs).

    Apart from Elahi, a separate no-trust motion was also submitted against PA Speaker Sibtain Khan and Deputy Speaker Wasiq Qayyum Abbasi.

    Legally, a submitted resolution would bar the chief minister from dissolving the assembly until the motion is voted upon.

    Immediately, after the submission of the no-trust motion, Punjab Governor Balighur Rehman directed the chief minister to seek a vote of confidence from the assembly on December 21 (tomorrow).

    In an order, shared by the PML-N on its Twitter handle, the governor said that the chief minister has “lost the confidence of his party president Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain and members of his own party belonging to the PML-Q.”

    “It is widely known that over the last few weeks serious differences of opinion erupted between two coalition parties of the ruling alliance in the Punjab Assembly i.e. PTI and PML-Q regarding political strategies, dissolution of the assembly, development schemes, and transfers of public officials,” it stated.

    The order also highlighted that the CM had said earlier that he is not going to dissolve the provincial assembly until March 2023 “a position which is completely at odds with the PTI’s public opinion on the issue.”

    The order also referred to CM Elahi’s recent criticism of Imran Khan regarding Khan’s negative comments on ex-Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa.

    On Saturday, Khan announced December 23 as the date for the dissolution of the Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) assemblies. However, with this new development, a delay may be expected now.

  • All eyes are on the Supreme Court: What can we expect today?

    With what seems like an uncalled-for use of power, the abrupt dismissal of the no-confidence motion against Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan is being termed an “unconstitutional trump card”. Citizens of Pakistan have serious reservations over how Article 5 has been used as an ‘excuse’ by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government to effectively subvert the constitution.

    Pakistan is in a state of constitutional crisis and all eyes are on the Supreme Court of Pakistan (SCP). The main question is which way will the SCP direct the future of Pakistan? The two options that seem likely to emerge after the hearing will primarily shape the future politics and state of democracy in Pakistan.

    The Supreme Court of Pakistan is scheduled to hold a hearing on the suo motu notice taken by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial. A five-member Supreme Court bench will hear the case for and against the dismissal of the no-confidence motion yesterday. CJP Bandial will head the session starting at 1pm on Monday.

    If the apex court decides in favour of the Opposition

    If the five-member bench decides in favour of the Opposition, the NA session will reconvene and the Lower House will have to continue with the voting on the no-confidence motion tabled against PM Khan. If Khan loses the majority, he can no longer hold office. And that the apex court will call for a fresh election in a time period of six months.

    If the apex court decides in favour of the government

    If the honourable judges of the Supreme Court decide in favour of the government, then fresh elections will be called in a time of 90-120 days. Meanwhile, it is also being speculated that the apex court will remark that it has nothing to do with the parliament and that what does goes inside the assembly strictly stays within the assembly.

    It is pertinent to mention here that Deputy Speaker of National Assembly Qasim Suri, on Sunday, April 3, dismissed the no-trust motion against Khan, terming it “unconstitutional”, saying that it was backed by “foreign powers”.

  • PM Khan says PTI more popular now, like in the 2014 dharna, all thanks to the Opposition

    PM Khan says PTI more popular now, like in the 2014 dharna, all thanks to the Opposition

     Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan Friday said that institutions are neutral in this political fight between the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government and the Opposition.

    The premier made these comments during a meeting he had with senior journalists.

    “The PM was confident that he would defeat the no-trust motion,” said Geo News anchor Shahzad Iqbal.

    “Since the Opposition had submitted the no-trust motion, our popularity has increased manifold, the same we had during our 2014 dharna,” said PM Khan. 

    “Some people feared that the popularity of PTI was declining but it has increased in the last two weeks. A massive rally will be held on March 27 that would show how popular is our party. Those who think our government will be toppled should change their mind,” said the premier.

    “I think the umpire is neutral and the Opposition has brought this no-trust motion to save their corruption and especially the cases of Shehbaz Sharif,” the PM was quoted by the anchor. 

  • Shehbaz Sharif thanks those who want him to be PM

    Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President Shehbaz Sharif has said that he is thankful to those who have proposed his name for the slot of prime minister (PM).

     In an interaction with journalists on Friday, Shehbaz Sharif said, “I am thankful to those who have proposed my name for the slot of prime minister… but who says I am taking the office (as premier) for a year or so?”

    “The decision about the new prime minister in the wake of the success of a no-trust move will be finalised by (PML-N Quaid) Nawaz Sharif in consultation with Opposition parties.”

    Shehbaz Sharif, former President Asif Ali Zardari, and Chief of Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) Maulana Fazlur Rehman met on Wednesday evening at the residence of the PML-N leader.

    After the meeting, it was reported that Shehbaz Sharif wanted someone from within the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) as the prime minister while the PPP wanted Shehbaz Sharif to be the next prime minister, a proposal that he was reluctant to accept. They claimed that former president Asif Ali Zardari nominated Shehbaz Sharif as the prime minister while Shehbaz named PPP’s Khursheed Shah for the slot.

    The Opposition parties have also started signing the no-confidence motion against PM Imran Khan and the united Opposition claimed the support of 24 members of the ruling party.

  • National Assembly ‘not available’ for no-trust move against PM Khan

    The National Assembly (NA) Hall and its lobbies are currently being renovated for the March 23 meeting of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).

    The Opposition may not be able to move the no-trust motion against Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan due to the ongoing renovation.

    It is being said that the renovation will take another month to complete.

    Senior journalist Nasim Zehra tweeted about the renovation and added, “So no NA session. Some plan.”

    NA Speaker Asad Qaiser said that the National Assembly Hall is being prepared for the upcoming meeting of the OIC, which is going to be held on March 23, reports The News. 

    When asked what would happen if the Opposition parties move the no-trust motion in the next coming days, he said that he would ask his secretariat to consider where the session could be held in case of the non-availability of the National Assembly hall and its lobbies, reported the news outlet.