ISLAMABAD, March 31 (Agency)
The lower house of Parliament will meet on Thursday to debate the no-confidence motion moved by the joint opposition against Prime Minister Imran Khan in Pakistan. The Imran government has lost majority after two key allies broke away from the ruling coalition. According to the schedule released by the Secretariat of the National Assembly, the session of the Lower House will begin at 4 pm (local time) in the Parliament House. The Secretariat also released a 24-point agenda for the session, including discussion on the no-confidence motion. According to the schedule, Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Shahbaz Sharif will begin the debate on the no-confidence motion moved on March 28. Sharif had moved a no-confidence motion under Article A-95 of the Pakistani Constitution and it has been signed by 161 members. The vote on the no-confidence motion is expected to be held on April 3, before which both sides will debate it in Parliament. The opposition’s position has strengthened after two important allies of the Imran government - Muttahida Quami Movement (MQM) and Balochistan Awami Party (BAP) joined the opposition front. However, amid mounting pressure on Imran to resign, his ministers say the Pakistani prime minister will continue the fight till the “last ball of the last over”. Imran needs 172 votes in the 342-member lower house to thwart the opposition’s attempts to topple his government. However, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman has claimed that the opposition has the support of 175 MPs and the prime minister should resign. No prime minister in Pakistan has completed his five-year term. Also, in the history of Pakistan, no prime minister has been ousted through a no-confidence motion and Imran is the third prime minister to face this challenge.
