ISLAMABAD: Adviser to the Prime Minister on Parliamentary Affairs Dr Babar Awan said on Wednesday that MNAs of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf and its allies would not be present in the House on the day the opposition's resolution for a no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Imran Khan would be taken up for voting in the National Assembly.
In an interview with a private TV channel, Babar Awan said only National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser will be present during the session, adding that "I do not have a vote so I, too, will go." The PM's adviser said the session for voting on the no-confidence motion was likely to be called at a place other than the usual as "the floor of the House where sessions take place is being renovated."
He implied that there was a foreign hand behind the opposition's no-trust move, saying: "Maulana (Fazlur Rehman) has called on Biden for help and in this situation, it is now clear from where the agenda is being run and support [is coming] ... The West is being called on to help to remove an elected prime minister."
Awan also defended the prime minister for his criticism of the European Union countries for asking Pakistan to vote against Russia during the special session of the United Nations General Assembly held recently.
"There is no example in the world's history of diplomats engaging in an act like this," he said. Awan said a senator of the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl had even submitted a resolution, calling for the House to take notice as to why PM Imran had disrespected foreign missions. "So the agenda is clear," he said.
On the opposition's claim that it had enough votes in the NA for the no-confidence motion to succeed, he referred to past instances where the government had defeated the opposition in parliamentary votes as he maintained that the government had an upper hand in the "numbers game".
Meanwhile, Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Chaudhry Fawad Hussain requested the speaker to convene the NA session earlier for no-confidence motion, as the country needed political stability and could not afford a prolonged crisis.
Speaking here at a joint news conference with Minister for Energy Hammad Azhar, Fawad threw a challenge to the joint opposition to show before the media even 172 MNAs so that everybody could come to know who those people were. He insisted that onus was on them to prove how many members were supporting them.
Regarding the government’s allies, he said prime minister’s meeting with the allies in Karachi was good and the one held with the PMLQ leadership a few days back was very good, and that the allies were with the strong government and the matters were under control.
He claimed that the prime minister enjoyed support of 179 members and with the arrival of five more, the number would be 184 MNAs. However, he did not further elaborate. The minister again urged the NA speaker to convene the assembly session as early as possible so that the government could take more measures to deal with the financial crisis.
The minister said in a categorical terms that there would be no talk with the opposition while the government had been trying to engage them on electoral reforms and other important issues. But now they would be dealt like the accused. Fawad pointed out before Nadeem Afzal Chan joining the PPP, he met him and advised him (Chan) to instead join the Congress, as Rahul Gandhi had more votes in Punjab than PPP.
He came hard on the Leader of the Opposition and PMLN President Shehbaz Sharif for saying they decided to bring the no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Imran Khan for his criticism on the European Union. “I ask him if the European Union is your phuppho (aunty). Just have the idea of his understanding as we have to make our foreign policy for our country’s interests and not for their interests. This is for the first time after Zulfikar Ali Bhutto that an independent policy is being followed,” he remarked.
Referring to the WikiLeaks, he said how the past rulers allowed drone attacks, telling the US to continue these attacks and that they would just issue statements against them but would support these hits.
He castigated both Asif Ali Zardari and Nawaz Sharif and alleged that both followed the identical model of buying people and then coming to the government to double what they had invested and then shift the looted wealth abroad and then Maulana Fazlur Rehman had joined them in 1993 and previously, none knew about the diesel permit, which he obtained and began selling diesel.
“And, then, Maulana Fazlur Rehman started receiving money directly from foreign powers. If one visits his head-office, he will come to know with which country’s aid it has been built,” the minister went on to allege. He charged that Maulana Fazl had been benefited in 1993 by Benazir Bhutto.
He recalled Prime Minister Imran Khan had voluntarily opted for taking a vote of confidence and he was the second to do so. He explained the first no-confidence motion was brought in 1989, when Nawaz Sharif and the IJI were present and the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam was with Nawaz Sharif. The minister charged sacks of banknotes were opened to overthrow Benazir Bhutto's government at that time and the kind of bazaar that was set up, gave rise to the popular term 'politics of Chhanga Manga'.
Nawaz Sharif and Asif Zardari, he alleged, were the pioneers of such market in 1989 and these were the people who started buying and selling members in Pakistan and now they were opening a new market together. He said that now they asked for a change and the members were not ready to accept the offers. “The damage done to the politics and democracy by this process of 1989, has not been cured yet and this time none of their efforts will be successful,” he asserted.
Fawad claimed that the biggest obstacle in the way of these money traders was Imran Khan. He said that the situation in Punjab PPP was deplorable as those having own vote bank, had left Zardari. The minister maintained the next election in Punjab was between PTI and PMLN. Continuing his attack on PPP, he said that it was their misunderstanding that they would get support in Punjab and instead they began receiving slaps. The minister noted ‘nannay mian’ (Bilawal Bhutto Zardari) was going crazy, alleging the money of Sindh under NFC was mercilessly wasted on his march to make it a success and even the government vehicles were being used to hoist PPP flags in Karachi and ambulances were used for transporting people. “Strange spectacle is on, as in the name of 18th Amendment, provinces could not be questioned how the NFC money was spent,” he said.
Citing the ongoing conflict between Ukraine and Russia and the US sanctions, the minister said that the global financial crisis had become more complicated. “We need political stability at this time and we are asking the NA Speaker not to prolong the no-confidence motion.”
Fawad claimed that the opposition tried to buy three PTI members, including two women, and on Tuesday one member told the prime minister that he was offered Rs100 million. “This is very unfortunate and we reject this kind of business politics,” he said.
Replying to a question, he said that the prerogative to replace the incumbent chief minister was with the provincial assembly while Usman Buzdar was doing his job, had confidence of the prime minister. When pressed, the minister said the decision regarding the chief minister had to be taken by PTI leadership and the parliamentary party.