National Assembly hall not ready for early no-trust move against PM Imran Khan

ISLAMABAD: The National Assembly Hall is currently not ready to welcome members for any early session. As a result, the opposition may not be able to move the no-trust motion against Prime Minister Imran Khan soon as the National Assembly Hall and its lobbies are currently being renovated and refurbished for the March 23 meeting of the OIC.

It is said that the renovation work that was started a couple of weeks ago will not be completed this month. This means that the opposition will not be able to find the space to move its no-trust motion against the Prime Minister at least this month.

When approached, the Speaker National Assembly Asad Qaiser said that he has asked the concerned authorities to complete the renovation and refurbishing work of the National Assembly by March 5.

The speaker told The News that the National Assembly Hall is being prepared for the upcoming meeting of the OIC, to be held on March 23 -- a great occasion for Pakistan. 

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.

Last month, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi had announced that the meeting of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) will be held on March 22 in Islamabad. "We will celebrate our 75th Pakistan Day with our brothers and the OIC Foreign Ministers Council will attend the March 23 parade as guests,” Qureshi was quoted as saying while addressing a high tea event organised in honour of the ambassadors of Muslim countries by the Special Aide to the Prime Minister on Religious Harmony and the Middle East Tahir Mahmood Ashrafi. Speaker National Assembly Asad Qaisar had also attended the event.

The opposition has announced that it would move a no-trust motion against the prime minister soon but there is no date announced or deadline given for it. The opposition leaders are currently holding a series of meetings among themselves besides interacting with the government allies and PTI’s disgruntled group of MNAs and MPAs, generally referred to as the Jehangir Tareen group, to make the no-trust succeed.

Generally, it is believed that the motion could be moved by the end of this month. In case the opposition decides to go for it in this week or even in the first week of March, it may not be possible because of the non-availability of the National Assembly building.