Pakistan PM Imran Khan addresses the nation on Friday. (Photo: Instagram)Pakistan Political Crisis News LIVE: Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has summoned a meeting of his cabinet ministers late on Saturday night, even though his government is expected to lose the no-confidence motion scheduled to take place later in the evening, according to local media reports. Pakistan’s National Assembly is expected to vote on a no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Imran Khan on Saturday after Iftar. As the House met this morning, the Speaker had adjourned the proceedings till 12.30 pm (1 pm IST). After a lengthy delay, the Assembly has resumed its proceedings.
Meanwhile, Imran Khan-led Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government on Saturday filed a review petition in the Supreme Court challenging its decision to declare the ruling of the deputy speaker to dismiss the no-confidence resolution against the prime minister as unconstitutional. The review petition, filed through Dr Babar Awan and Azhar Siddique, named the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), Supreme Court Bar Association, Sindh High Court Bar Association and the Sindh Bar Council as respondents.
Imran Khan Friday accepted the Supreme Court’s verdict and urged his supporters to stage peaceful protests across the country when the “new imported government” comes into power Sunday. In an address to the nation on the eve of a no-trust motion he has little chance of defeating, Khan, 69, cited the example of India as a “self-respecting nation” (khuddar qaum) which no world power can dictate terms to.
Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan arrives to attend a military parade to mark Pakistan National Day in Islamabad, Pakistan, Wednesday, March 23, 2022. (AP/File)
The session will likely continue till 12 am (local time), while PM Imran Khan has summoned a meeting of the federal cabinet at 9 pm, reports Pakistan's Geo News quoting National Assembly Secretariat sources.
Pakistan's Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Saturday told Parliament that the US national security adviser telephoned his Pakistani counterpart and "categorically asked us not to proceed with the Russia tour" of Prime Minister Imran Khan in February.
In a lengthy address to the National Assembly, ahead of a vote on a no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Khan, Qureshi talked major foreign policy issues, especially the alleged regime change being plotted by the US in Pakistan. "Today Pakistan is standing at a historic juncture and the people need to decide whether they want to live in an independent state or become slaves [to the West],” the 65-year-old politician said, acknowledging that today might be his last day as the foreign minister of Pakistan.
“As the foreign minister of Pakistan, I want to bring this to record that when the decision to visit Moscow was taken after due deliberation because of Pakistan's better future and was taken months before the Ukraine situation emerged,” he said, referring to the controversy generated by Prime Minister Khan's maiden visit to Russia for a meeting with President Vladimir Putin. (PTI)
The National Assembly session, which was adjourned on account of iftar and Maghrib prayers break, has resumed.
The National Assembly session has been adjourned till 7:30 pm on account of iftar and Maghrib prayers break, Pakistani newspaper Dawn reported.
Pakistan's I&B Minister Choudhary Fawad Hussain changes his Twitter account bio to former I&B minister ahead of voting on no-confidence motion against PM Imran Khan.
Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has summoned a meeting of his cabinet ministers late on Saturday night, even though his government is expected to lose the no-confidence motion scheduled to take place later in the evening, according to local media reports.
Khan has summoned the Cabinet Meeting at 9.00 PM at the Prime Ministers' House here. Important decisions are expected in the meeting, Geo News reported quoting high-level sources. However, the meeting has taken many by surprise as the no-confidence vote is expected to be completed by around 8.00 PM and Khan has little chance of surviving it. (PTI)
Imran Khan is the “first captain who is running from the pitch with wickets because he fears that he will lose the match,” Pakistan Peoples Party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari said in the National Assembly on Saturday, as he asked the embattled Prime Minister to “show some sportsman spirit,” before leaving office.
The PPP Chairman trained his guns on Khan, who was conspicuous by his absence in the National Assembly, when the session began at 10.30 am on Saturday, in line with the landmark Supreme Court order.
“Imran Khan is not present in the Parliament because he cannot defend himself. Conspiracies against the constitution will not succeed,” he said, while adding that before Khan leaves his office, he should “show some sportsman spirit.” Bilawal told the Speaker Asad Qaiser that he was violating the Constitution and the court's order. (PTI)
The much-awaited voting on the no-confidence motion against embattled Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan is expected to take place after Iftar, the meal eaten after sunset during Ramzan to break the day's fast, a lawmaker from the Opposition PML-N party said in Parliament on Saturday. (PTI)
In his speech in parliament, former Pakistani president Asif Ali Zardari called for voting on the no-confidence motion against embattled PM Imran Khan, Dawn reported. According to the report, he lamented the devaluation of the rupee and the hike in interest rates by the country's central bank.
Paramilitary soldiers stand guard on a road leading to the parliament building in Islamabad, Pakistan. (Reuters)
PPP Chief Bilawal Bhutto in Pakistan parliament said that he "had warned PM Imran Khan to stay away from Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, or else he will trap him and he has trapped him", Dawn reported.
The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf government led by Imran Khan has filed a review petition against the Supreme Court verdict on the Deputy Speaker’s ruling over the no-trust motion in the National Assembly, Pakistani newspaper Dawn reported.
Speaking in the National assembly, Pakistan's Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi Saturday said the "US want to view Islamabad and India on different platforms." "They said that they look at India through lens of China," he said. He added that the PTI government "wants good relations with everyone and expand its diplomatic reach including with Russia and China."
Asserting that he was speaking as a Pakistani and not a PTI member, Qureshi urged the assembly to not push the country into a constitutional crisis. (PTV)
Pakistan's Opposition leader Maryam Nawaz on Saturday lashed out at Prime Minister Imran Khan for lavishing praise on India, saying he should go to the neighbouring country if he likes it so much.
Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Vice President Maryam, who is the daughter of deposed prime minister Nawaz Sharif, also suggested that Khan should emulate the example of India where no prime minister has abrogated the Constitution while facing a no-confidence motion. Her remarks came after Khan called India a "nation with a great sense of honour".
Prime Minister Khan, in an address to the nation on Friday night ahead of the no-trust motion where he has little chances of surviving unless some miracle takes place, said that he was not against India and had a huge following in the neighbouring country. (PTI)
Voting on no-confidence motion against Pakistan PM Imran Khan expected after 8 pm, reports Pakistan media.
As Pakistan’s National Assembly resumed its session after a lengthy delay on Saturday, PTI leader and Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said that "Pakistan is a sovereign state, but still, US NSA called the NSA of Pakistan and ordered us not to go to Russia." "Which nation is ordered around like this?" he asked.
The debate on the no-trust vote against Pakistan PM Imran Khan has been delayed and will started after the Namaz break, Geo News reported. The talks between the Speaker and the Opposition also failed as the latter wanted a vote on a no-confidence motion, while the Speaker wanted to take up the foreign conspiracy angle for debate.
The National Assembly will shortly resume the debate on the no-trust vote against Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan. The session, which began at 10.30 am was adjourned by the Speaker till 12 pm (1 pm IST). The Prime Minister is not present in the House, but 51 members of his party are present in the House.
Speaking during the session, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi accepted that according to the Constitution, it is the right of the Opposition to submit a no-confidence motion, while it is the government’s responsibility to defend itself against it. Citing PM Imran Khan’s April 8 address to the nation, he said that to honour the Constitution is the responsibility of all Pakistanis and “just as the PM said, although we are disappointed with Supreme Court’s judgment, we still abide by the verdict.”