PM Shehbaz not to take vote of confidence: information minister

Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb on Monday denied "rumors" that Prime Minster Shehbaz Sharif would take a vote of confidence in the National Assembly, saying that the PM was a "unanimous candidate of the people".

Since coming into power in April last year, the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM)-led government has been battling several challenges on multiple fronts, including repeated protests from the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), a distressed economy, and its recent standoff with the judiciary.

"The prime minister did not decide to take a vote of confidence. There were no such consultations and there is no need for the [vote of confidence]," Aurangzeb said in a tweet.

The minister termed Shehbaz — who was sworn in as the premier on April 11, 2022 — as the "unanimous" candidate of the people, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), and the coalition parties.

The information minister claimed that "rumours" are not facts and asked media outlets not to run news stories pertaining to the prime minister "without verification".

The minister's tweet came after sources told Geo News that the premier had decided to take a vote of confidence this week, while consultations with PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif had been completed.

The prime minister, the sources said, had directed parliamentarians of all ruling parties to be present in Islamabad for the vote.