PDM will boycott vote of confidence: Fazl

ISLAMABAD: As Prime Minister Imran Khan is heading for a do or die battle to save his seat by seeking the vote of confidence from the National Assembly on Saturday afternoon (today), the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) has announced to stay away from the lower house of parliament. In this connection, PDM chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman, talking to the media in Sukkur on Friday, said the opposition members will not attend the vote of confidence.

On Friday, Prime Minister Imran Khan presided over a meeting of the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf and its allied parties’ legislators to discuss the strategy relating to the National Assembly’s session on Saturday, wherein he will take the vote of confidence. In this regard, National Assembly Secretariat on Friday issued the order of the day for proceedings according to which Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi would move a resolution that the House reposes confidence in Prime Minister Imran Khan under Article 91(7) of the Constitution. “This House reposes confidence in the Prime Minister of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, Mr. Imran Khan, as required under Clause 7 of Article 91 of the Constitution of Pakistan,” the resolution to be read by the foreign minister on Saturday says.

President Arif Alvi had on Friday summoned the National Assembly for the purpose of requiring the prime minister to seek vote of confidence from the House as required under Article 91(7). Addressing the nation on Thursday, the prime minister had announced to go to the assembly to take vote of confidence in the backdrop of defeat of Dr Hafeez Sheikh by PDM candidate Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani on March 03 in the Senate elections from the federal capital.

It was learnt the participants of the PM's meeting held out an assurance to the prime minister of giving the vote of confidence to him. A total of 177 MNAs, belonging to PTI and its allies, reposed confidence in the prime minister. Ghulam Bharwana, PTI MNA Amir Liaquat and PML-Q's Moonis Elahi did not participate in the meeting. Independent candidate Ali Nawaz Shah also did not attend the meeting.

The Imran Khan-led Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) is the largest party in the National Assembly with 157 MNAs but it does not possess simple majority of 172 in the House of 342 membership. According to PTI sources, Prime Minister Imran Khan also enjoys the support of 23 members from allied parties, including Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), Pakistan Muslim League (Q), Grand Democratic Alliance (GDA), Balochistan Awami Party (BAP) and some independent members.

The government devised the strategy for the special session of the National Assembly and took the allies into confidence in this connection. Accordingly, all members of the National Assembly have been directed to attend the session of the National Assembly in any case.

Speaking at the meeting of the parliamentary party and allies, the prime minister said that he had come into politics with a purpose; he believes in democracy and its underlining element was fairness and transparency. He said that certain members of the government sold their conscience, which resulted in the defeat of Abdul Hafeez Sheikh. “It is dishonesty to sell one's conscience for money,” he maintained.

During the meeting, the KPK parliamentarians started chanting slogans in support of the prime minister and suggested him to stick to his goal. The prime minister asked the members to openly express their opinion whether or not they had confidence in him. He told the meeting that he himself called the ‘vote of no confidence’ session prior to the opposition's request for it. He said for the last two and a half years, he had faced various crises. "If you don’t like me, then don’t support me but nobody can blackmail me." He said when he came to power, the country’s economy was in a devastating condition but now it had been revived. He said the government will provide relief to the people and it had been working on it. He said he had faced such situations before too.

Imran said he was working to strengthen the national institutions, adding that the nation knows he has been fighting against the mafias. He said faces in the opposition look like those of traitors. He said if he could not take vote of confidence, then he would sit in the opposition. He said he does not have Changa Manga but he could take all the members to Murree.

Pervez Khattak read out the parliament’s rules, saying whoever would not vote for the prime minister would be constitutionally disqualified. The prime minister also received an MQM delegation and assured them of his support. The MQM leaders said they were with the prime minister despite concerns over the governance system.

The major task the prime minister is facing is that he will have to gather at least 172 members in the National Assembly on Saturday. The Article 63A says that a member will stand disqualified on the basis of defection if he votes or abstains from voting in the House contrary to any direction issued by the party to which he belongs. It will apply in case of vote of confidence or a vote of no confidence or election of the prime minister.

On the other hand, the PDM chief, Maulana Fazlur Rehman, on Friday said the joint opposition would not attend the session of ‘vote of no confidence’, summoned by the President of Pakistan, saying ‘vote of no confidence’ itself means that the PM has lost confidence. Fazlur Rehman said none of MNAs from the opposition would attend the National Assembly's proceedings when Imran Khan seeks the vote of confidence. He said in the absence of parliamentarians from the opposition, the National Assembly’s proceedings on Saturday would have no political validity.

While talking to media persons in Sukkur, Fazlur Rehman said addressing the nation by the prime minister was too against ethics, when he declared 16 to 18 of his party members as Bikao Maal. He said strangely Imran has been asking the same members to vote for him in today’s ‘vote of confidence’. Referring to Chairman Senate Sadiq Sanjrani's survival in the 2019 vote of no-confidence, the JUI-F chief said Imran Khan, at the time, had said the opposition’s senators, who voted for Sanjrani, had voted according to their conscience.

The JUI-F chief also talked about the ECP, saying, “We believe blaming the ECP for their loss in the Senate’s elections is not an issue”. He said, “We believe the PM blamed the ECP to put pressure on it [to not pursue] the foreign funding case”. To a question regarding whether the direction of winds have changed, the PDM chief said they had changed long ago. He added that the winds had first changed when the “Azadi March” had been carried out. Fazlur Rehman added the president had asked the prime minister to seek the confidence vote because he had lost the confidence of majority of members in the House.

On the other hand, PML-N Vice-President Maryam Nawaz said Prime Minister Imran Khan had attempted to drag the Pakistan Army into politics by inviting the top military leadership for a meeting at the Prime Minister’s House after losing the Senate seat from Islamabad.

The top military leadership should not have visited the Prime Minister's House for a meeting a day after the ruling party suffered a defeat in the Senate elections from Islamabad, Maryam said while responding to a question at a press talk here. She said director general ISPR had also been asking the opposition not to drag the armed forces into politics but the same should be advised to the government.

“The prime minister should be told that he has lost confidence not only of the people, but also of the National Assembly and his own members and he should not drag the Pakistan Army into politics,” she said.

Condemning the prime minister’s criticism of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), Maryam said now everybody should know that who was making the institutions controversial.

She said action should be taken against the prime minister, as he had insulted the Election Commission and dragged the army into politics. Maryam said the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) did not give personal opinion in the Supreme Court presidential reference hearing, rather it opined in the light of the Constitution.

“The Election Commission gave its opinion under the Constitution, and neither the ECP nor the Supreme Court has the power to amend the Constitution," she said. Maryam said the ECP had taken a right position during the apex court's hearing, adding, “Now even the institutions know who is ridiculing them."

The PML-N leader claimed that the Senate election tickets in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa were sold for billions of rupees and they issued tickets to their ATMs in the two provinces. “But when they lost the Senate seat in Islamabad, they started blaming the ECP."

Maryam said the president had acknowledged what the nation understood in the recent by-elections. "Even though he was late to understand this, I congratulate the president for understanding the situation.”

She also demanded that the summary, which was moved by the government to the president to summon the National Assembly session, should also be made public because as per the Constitution, the president will ask the prime minister to seek vote of confidence when the president felt that the prime minister had lost majority in the House.

On elections in Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Maryam Nawaz said the PML-N would not allow anybody to rig the polls and steal mandate of the masses. “This is not the old PML-N and will now allow dacoity on vote and pockets of people,” she said. She said the culture of the PML-N has changed in Pakistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir. “I appreciate the AJK prime minister for keeping his loyalty with the party as intact,” he said.

On the other hand, Minister for Information and Broadcasting Senator Shibli Faraz on Friday said about 177 Members of the National Assembly (MNAs) belonging to the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf and allied parties reposed their trust in the leadership of Prime Minister Imran Khan. Only one or two MNAs could not attend the meeting as they were on their way to Islamabad, he said talking to the media after the meeting of parliamentary parties of PTI and allies at the Parliament House. The minister said the prime minister would get vote of confidence on Saturday and after that his position would be further strengthened. The PTI would also win the upcoming elections of Senate chairman and deputy chairman, he added.

The minister said the PTI had taken practical steps to eradicate the culture of vote buying in total negation of the moral values, which also sullied the image and reputation of parliamentarians. A senator elected through the use of wealth would have only priority of minting money by hook or by crook, he opined.

Shibli Faraz said the PTI was striving to bring transparency in the electoral process, but it could not succeed in rectifying the flaws in laws to that effect due to the hypocrisy of the opposition parties.

Both the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz and the Pakistan People's Party had already agreed in the Charter of Democracy (CoD) to amend the law for holding the Senate polls in a free and transparent manner, but backtracked from their commitment for their vested interests. Their politics, he said, revolved around personal interests and money. It was PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif, who had had first bought the loyalties of legislators in 1985 by using money and plots, and that politics he and his cronies were pursuing till today.

In Lahore, Speaker Punjab Assembly Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi said they were fully supporting the government as an ally at his residence here on Friday.

He stated this during a meeting with Federal Minister for Maritime Affairs Ali Haider Zaidi, who called on him there. Both leaders discussed the current political situation and Prime Minister Imran Khan’s vote of confidence. Provincial Minister Yawar Bukhari and Hamid Zaman were also present.

Also, PML-N leader Ahsan Iqbal, ridiculing Imran inst him if not happy; Maryam says no-trust is already established; there is no prime minister in the country; Imran is seeking trust vote from those he called cheaters