ISLAMABAD: A nine-member committee of the united opposition on Wednesday recommended bringing a no-confidence motion against the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government.
According to a private news channel, the committee said that the united opposition had the required number of MNAs and the no-confidence motion should be tabled against the PTI government as soon as possible.
In the committee meeting, PMLN was represented by Ayaz Sadiq, Saad Rafique and Rana Sanaullah while Yusuf Raza Gilani, Raja Pervaiz Ashraf and Naveed Qamar were present from the PPP. From JUIF, Kamran Murtaza, Maulana Asad Mahmood and Akram Durrani attended the meeting.
According to sources, the committee members presented the report regarding their contacts with the MNAs from the government side. They said that they had worked on the success of the no-trust motion and numbers game. The committee members said that the no-trust motion would succeed even without support of the government members.
Meanwhile, Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman on Wednesday said that the opposition will table the no-confidence motion to topple the PTI-led government within next 48 hours.
During an informal conversation with journalists, the JUIF leader said that the next two or three days are crucial and would bring good news. Fazl said, “Opposition is on the same page and there is no point of contention amongst them.” "Opposition parties are now trusting one another and are in constant contact with one another," he said.
On a query by Geo News regarding the success of the no-confidence motion, the PDM chief assured that it would succeed as there was no disagreement among the opposition parties and he was 100 percent confident of success. He added that the opposition had completed its “homework” as well.
He further said that the PDM had gathered enough numbers to make the motion successful, adding, "All opposition parties unitedly want to bring down the government." "However, there have been no talks about the government that will be made after the current one falls," he added.
He added that the opposition had asked all its lawmakers to arrive in Islamabad quickly. The PDM chief said that the opposition had not received any support from the "umpire", adding that they were not in contact with the establishment.
"I don't know if PMLN or PPP is in contact with the establishment," he clarified. Fazl was unwilling to share details when he was asked about what would happen after the no-trust motion was passed.
“Should we tell you everything beforehand,” said the PDM chief. He added that there had been no talk about establishing the next government. Meanwhile, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PMLN) senior leader Shahid Khaqan Abbasi claimed that the opposition’s proposed no-confidence against the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government would succeed even without the support of the PMLQ, local media reported.
Talking to the journalists, Abbasi said that they had contacted the leadership of PMLQ and sought their support for the no-trust motion. "PMLQ has to decide if they will stick with the government or they will stand with the people,” he added.
PMLQ has five lawmakers, Abbasi said, adding that the opposition would succeed in toppling the PTI’s government even without their vote. Criticising the ruling PTI over its alleged failure in fulfilling the tall claims it had made during the election campaign, he said, “This is the first government which made claims about accountability.”
Criticising the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), Abbasi said that the anti-graft body had badly harmed the country and vowed to abolish NAB. He said NAB made false and baseless cases against the opposition leaders. "NAB chairman will have to be accountable for the false cases," says the PMLN leader.
Meanwhile, addressing a press conference at Sakrand in district Shaheed Benazirabad, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said the opposition was demanding an assembly session, and they were ready to let them present a no-confidence move.
He asked Billawal Bhutto to take out vote of no-confidence from his pocket, adding that movement was now getting weaker, because PMLQ in a meeting with Imran Khan assured the PM of their support and it’s a good decision of the Chaudhry brothers.
Meanwhile, talking in Geo News programme, "Aaj Shahzeb Khanzada Key Saath," PMLN leader Rana Sanaullah said that the government had a clear picture that the opposition had the numbers for the success of the no-confidence motion. He said that the PPP, PMLN and JUIF had different tasks regarding the no-trust motion and in Punjab, PMLN had crucial responsibility which had fulfilled with utmost success.
Speaking in the programme, Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Fawad Hussain Chaudhry said that the opposition parties were citing the statement of Tariq Basheer Cheema regarding PM, Chaudgry brothers meeting the other day while Tariq Basheer Cheema was not present in the meeting. He said that Moonis Elahi had clearly said that PMLQ stood by the government so there was no point of creating confusion.
Meanwhile, the Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs, Ali Muhammad Khan, has said that if Prime Minister Imran Khan is illegally ousted, it will wrap up the ‘entire system’ as Imran Khan will go to any lengths to defeat that move.
Talking to a private TV channel, the minister of state said Imran Khan’s politics does not revolve around musical chairs and the party’s 23-year struggle was not for the sake of politicking like others who take turns to rule the country. Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Ali Muhammad Khan said, “The entire objective of the PTI’s politics is to break the status quo and to destroy the mafias that have seriously damaged the country, for which the prime minister can go to any lengths. “All bets are off in case of an illegal ouster," he said and elaborated it could stir up anything, there could be an ordinance too. He warned it can lead to wrapping up the entire system. "It is the question of the country’s survival," the PTI minister said. He claimed leaders like Imran Khan and ZAB are not a common phenomenon. Counselling the opposition, Ali Muhammad Khan said "don’t worry, Imran will have the next term too."
