Islamabad
Contrary to his earlier statement that he would play the game till the last ball, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan was conspicuous by his absence in the National Assembly, which commenced its proceedings on Saturday to take up the no-confidence motion on the direction of the Supreme Court.
The no-confidence motion is listed fourth on the day’s agenda of the National Assembly. While the Opposition has come out in full force, very few members of the treasury benches were seen in attendance. Prime Minister Imran Khan was also not present in the House.
Taking the floor, the leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Shehbaz Sharif hailed Thursday as a historic day when the apex court rejected the Deputy Speaker’s ruling to reject the no-confidence motion. According to the PML-N leader, the SC decision had made Pakistan’s future “bright”.
He also thanked the Opposition leaders for leading protests against the erroneous ruling of the Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly.
He called upon the National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser to conduct proceedings in accordance with the SC’s directives, stating that Parliament would be writing history today.
“Today, Parliament is going to defeat a selected prime minister in a Constitutional manner,” he declared.
Shehbaz urged the Speaker to let bygones be bygones and to stand for the law and the Constitution. He urged the Speaker to play his role and get his name “written in history in golden words”.
“You must cash in on this moment with conviction and with your heart and mind. Don’t act on the dictation of the selected Prime Minister,” he urged Qaiser, adding that the apex court’s directives were clear.
Responding to Shehbaz’s earnest plea, Qaiser assured the Opposition leader that he would conduct proceedings according to the law and the Constitution.
