ISLAMABAD: Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto on Saturday alleged that Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi was responsible for Prime Minister Imran Khan’s troubles, calling for voting to be held on no-confidence motion.
NA Speaker Asad Qaiser was chairing today’s session which began at 10:30am sharp, in accordance with the Supreme Court’s directives. It was followed by the national anthem and prayers for the recently deceased mother of MNA Shazia Sobia.
However, Amjad Ali Khan Niazi chaired the session for a brief period as the session resumed after the adjournment before Qaiser returned.
Addressing the NA floor, Bilawal began by telling [PM] Imran he was violating the Constitution and the court’s orders. “You cannot take up anything else except for what is on the agenda. Not only had you, the speaker also done the same,” he said.
At this, Niazi told the PPP chairman that the court can’t intervene in parliamentary matters. Bilawal replied by saying that Niazi would be disqualified for violating the law, adding that this was not the first time the court had set aside the speaker’s ruling.
Turning his guns on PM Imran, Bilawal said that the premier was breaking the law on his way out of office. “If you want to be involved in it, then it’s your choice. But I had warned the prime minister to stay away from the man speaking before me,” he said, referring to the foreign minister.
Bilawal questioned why the foreign minister was not present for the National Security Committee meeting. He also questioned why the statement issued after the meeting did not mention the no-trust motion. “It just included a decision to issue a demarche,” he added.
The PPP chairman further said that if there was a conspiracy against the government, PM Imran should have taken action immediately. He maintained that the current battle was not between the PTI, the PPP or the PDM, rather between those who upheld the Constitution and those who disregarded it.
He said that the government had lost its majority in the assembly. “We can debate on the foreign conspiracy for 100 days but first conduct voting,” he added. Bilawal alleged that the government had told several lies in this whole saga.
The supposed conversation took place on March 7 and the no-confidence was presented on March 8, he noted. “But there is a time difference between Pakistan and America which means that the no-trust move was presented as the conversation was underway.”
The PPP chairman added that PM Imran was “scared of fair and free elections”. The prime minister knows that he will be defeated in the same way he was defeated in the by-elections, Bilawal thundered, adding that the prime minister could not be Zulfikar Ali Bhutto no matter how hard he tried.
He said that the opposition wanted to oust the government in a “democratic way”. “This is the only legal and democratic means to dismiss the government,” he said, adding that the NA belonged to the people of Pakistan.
Talking about the government’s claims of horse-trading, he asked how much money the foreign minister took each time he switched alliances. “Ninety per cent of the faces on the treasury benches are turncoats,” he added.
He added that PM Imran had divided the house, the judiciary, the establishment and the entire country. “The prime minister should show sportsmanship. He is the first captain who is running away from the pitch after taking away the wicket.”
Lost majority
PM Imran Khan’s coalition lost its majority in the national assembly last week, but he avoided being dismissed when the deputy speaker blocked a no-confidence motion against him and the president dissolved parliament and ordered fresh elections.
The premier claimed the Opposition had colluded with the United States for “regime change” when the deputy speaker — a member of PTI — refused to allow the no-confidence motion. Simultaneously, Khan asked President Arif Alvi to dissolve the assembly.st PM Imran.
However, the top court restored the National Assembly on Thursday after it declared the government’s decision to dissolve the assembly and NA Deputy Speaker Qasim Suri’s ruling against the Constitution.
The Supreme Court also “declared that the assembly was in existence at all times, and continues to remain and be so”. The apex court also stated that the speaker cannot prorogue the assembly and bring the session to an end if the no-trust motion fails or after a new prime minister is elected if a no-confidence motion is passed.
