PDM to decide ‘when and where’ trust vote will take place: Bilawal

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari on Thursday said it is not Prime Minister Imran Khan, but the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) that will call the shots on “when and where” a confidence vote will take place, suggesting a possible move against the government in Punjab.

In a news conference flanked with victorious Senate candidate Yousuf Raza Gilani here, Bilawal, addressing the Prime Minister by name, said: “It is not you who will make these decisions [of a confidence vote], Khan Sahib, I will tell you. The Pakistan Democratic Movement will tell you when a no-confidence [vote] will be held — and where.”

Gilani had pulled off an upset victory a day before, beating Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh from the Islamabad seat by securing 169 votes. Shaikh received 164 votes.

Bilawal followed up by saying: “We think that we should save Punjab first.” When asked by a reporter if the opposition plans a no-confidence vote in Punjab, Bilawal said: “The decision will be made by the PDM with consensus. Whatever is decided, we will proceed with that. We will decide when the no-confidence vote takes place and where. That is the response to your question on Punjab.”

In his presser, he also said Prime Minister Khan had been rejected by his own MNAs and allies, Geo News reported. “You will not be able to escape. We will not give you an NRO. And we will not spare you,” he said, before declaring: “This is well and truly the end [for the government].” He also continued by saying that: “Now the democratic forces smell blood and we will not spare you.”

He said Khan had promised to dissolve the assembly if he lost the Islamabad Senate seat, but when it was time to make the decision, the Premier “is scared”. “He’s a coward and he is afraid of elections,” Bilawal claimed. “After backtracking from the statement of dissolving the assembly, he is now creating a new drama by seeking a vote of confidence from the Parliament.”

Separately in Islamabad, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Vice President Maryam Nawaz also taunted the Prime Minister at a party workers meeting, saying those who were trying to break up the PML-N were themselves disintegrating.

Maryam thanked the party’s lawmakers for voting for Gilani — the PDM’s joint candidate — during the Senate elections. “I pay tribute to all 83 parliamentarians who accepted Nawaz Sharif’s narrative,” she said. “Our parliamentarians were disciplined and voted for Yousaf Raza Gilani.”

The PML-N leader claimed the Prime Minister knew, “right from the very beginning, that he was headed for defeat in the Senate elections”. She said because he was aware of his imminent defeat, he had tried to introduce ordinances and had “dragged the Supreme Court” in the Senate elections.

“Where was your democracy sleeping, when you and your selectors rigged the Senate elections a few years ago when Bizenjo tried to become the Senate chairman — and despite opposition parties having more numbers — lost it?” she asked.

Maryam taunted the Prime Minister, saying that how could he seek a vote of confidence from his own people after accusing them of selling out for money. “Where will you secure the vote of confidence of the masses, who defeated you in the recent by-elections,” she asked.