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Amid critical leadership test for Imran Khan, preps for power show : 10 points
Pak no-trust vote: Of the 342 seats in the National Assembly, the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has 155 seats.
In a rare no-confidence motion, Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan is set to face a critical leadership test on Friday amid what the opposition defines as a mounting economic crisis in the country. There is a small likelihood that the no-confidence vote may be delayed over a petition in the top court. "I will play till the last ball and I will surprise them a day before as they are still under pressure," the cricketer-turned-politician, 69, had said earlier this week as the ruling PTI braced for the crucial day.
Here are ten points on the no-trust motion in Pakistan:
1. Imran Khan on Thursday urged people to participate in the ruling party's power show in Islamabad. "I want the entire nation to join me on March 27 to send one message: that we are not with evil, we are against it. That we are against the crime[s] being committed against democracy and the nation, where the conscience of public representatives is being bought with looted money," he said in a recorded message.
2. In the Supreme Court, a five-judge bench - headed by Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial - is hearing a petition by the government over allowing a rebel to vote against party policy and the length of disqualification for going against the party line while voting in the parliament, reports said. Asserting that the country's constitution had no mention of not counting the rebel lawmakers' note, the chief justice on Thursday said: "It will be insulting (to not count the vote)."
3. Pakistan is scheduled to vote for its next government by 2023. Of the 342 seats in the National Assembly, the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has 155 seats. Khan is reportedly facing an internal rebellion too apart from the increasing pressure from the opposition.
4. The coalition-partners of the ruling PTI, which has a slender majority, seems to be losing confidence in Imran Khan. "PM Imran Khan should nominate another leader from the PTI in his place so that the coalition parties can take a positive decision," ally MQM-P was quoted as saying in local reports.
5. In a warning to rebels, Pak interior minister Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed on Thursday hinted at early elections. "Those switching loyalties should keep in mind that early elections could be held in the country," he was quoted as saying by local media. He has also said the PTI would weather the storm and hold a rally on Sunday.
6. Opposition leader Ahsan Iqbal of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) has alleged the no confidence motion against the Pak prime minister was delayed. Former deputy speaker of the National Assembly Murtaza Javaid Abbasi, according to news agency ANI, said "the days of Imran Khan were numbered". These are just one of the many comments by his critics.
7. To remain in the government, Imran Khan needs 172 lawmakers on his side. Reports say that about two dozen lawmakers have stirred up an internal rebellion.
8. "I will forgive you if you come back. We all commit mistakes. I am like a father who forgives his children and I will pardon you as well and no action will be taken against you,” Imran Khan had said Sunday in a message to his rebels.
9. The no-confidence motion against him was moved on March 8 by nearly 100 lawmakers from the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan Peoples’ Party (PPP) submitted. Once the no-confidence motion is officially taken up, the voting happens in three-seven days.
10. Pakistan's powerful army has distanced itself from the current political crisis.
(With inputs from PTI, ANI)
