- Wednesday, April 24, 2024
By: Chandrashekar Bhat
PAKISTAN’S parliament session was on Thursday (31) adjourned abruptly till Sunday (3) after opposition lawmakers demanded an immediate vote on a no-confidence motion against prime minister Imran Khan.
The adjournment came amid vociferous protest from the opposition who had tabled the motion on March 28.
Khan has suffered further setbacks as two main allies of the government – Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) and Balochistan Awami Party (BAP) – have joined the ranks against him.
The government lost its majority after the allies ditched it and pressure is mounting on the cricketer-turned-politician.
His ministers, however, said Khan would fight until “the last ball of the last over”.
Khan needs 172 votes in the Lower House of 342 to foil the opposition’s bid to topple him.
However, Maulana Fazlur Rehman, chief of Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam Fazl (JUI-F), said the opposition has the support of 175 lawmakers and the prime minister should resign.
No Pakistani prime minister has ever completed a full five-year term in office. Also, no prime minister in Pakistan’s history has ever been ousted through a no-confidence motion.
