Pakistan: Over 24 members of Imran Khan’s party threaten to vote against him on no-confidence motion
The motion will be tabled on March 28.
More than 24 members of Prime Minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party have threatened to vote against him on the no-confidence motion tabled in the country’s Parliament by the Opposition, PTI reported on Friday.
These MPs are reportedly staying in a guest house in the country’s Sindh province which is ruled by the Pakistan People Party, currently in Opposition.
On March 8, around 100 members of the Opposition parties such as the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, or PML-N, and PPP had submitted a no-confidence motion before the National Assembly Secretariat against Khan’s government.
The Opposition had alleged that the cricketer-turned-politician has failed to control inflation in the country and was responsible for the economic crisis in Pakistan.
In the 342-member National Assembly of Pakistan, Khan’s party has 155 members in the House and needs at least 172 lawmakers on its side to remain in the government. It also has the support of 23 members belonging to six different political parties, according to PTI.
Voting on the motion will be held on March 28.
On Thursday, Noor Alam Khan, one of the disgruntled members of Khan’s party told news channel Samaa TV that he was part of a group of more than two dozen MPs who were not happy with the policies of the Khan-led government.
“I raised the issue of gas shortage in my constituency many times but nothing was done,” Khan said.
Another member, Raja Riaz, claimed that they were staying in the guest house out of fear of action against them by Khan’s government. “Many other ministers are ready to come here [guest house],” he told news channel Geo News.
Riaz said that the members staying at the guest house would move if the prime minister assured that they would be allowed to vote according to their conscience, PTI reported.
Meanwhile, Pakistan Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid urged Khan to remove the government in Sindh province and impose governor’s rule. Rashid alleged that the Sindh government was involved in “buying members” of the National Assembly ahead of the vote, according to PTI.
Minister for Information and Broadcasting Fawad Chaudhry said that his party will approach the Supreme Court of Pakistan regarding disqualification of parliamentarians on grounds of defection, Dawn reported.