ISLAMABAD (AFP) – Pakistan lawmakers clashed angrily in the national assembly yesterday with the opposition accusing ruling party members of wasting time ahead of a no-confidence vote that will likely see Prime Minister Imran Khan booted from office.
The session was adjourned for a second time late yesterday afternoon, with lawmakers told to return in the evening after breaking their Ramadhan fast. Khan, who was not present, has lost his majority in the 342-seat assembly through defections by coalition partners and members of his own party, and the opposition needs just 172 votes to dismiss him.
There is no vote for a new premier on the agenda, but that could change and Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N) leader Shehbaz Sharif is the anointed candidate.
Whoever takes over will still have to deal with the issues that bedevilled Khan – soaring inflation, a feeble rupee and crippling debt.
Militancy is also on the rise, with Pakistan’s Taleban emboldened by the return to power last year of the hardline group in neighbouring Afghanistan.
Tempers rose when Shehbaz insisted a vote be held immediately – as ordered by the Supreme Court on Thursday – but Khan loyalists demanded discussion first on their leader’s claims there had been foreign interference in the process.
“You will run proceedings of the house under the order of the Supreme Court,” said a furious Shehbaz, wagging his finger.
“Parliament is going to write a new history. Today, the Parliament is going to defeat a… prime minister. We intend to face it in accordance with law and constitution,” replied Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, adding, “It is my duty to defend the motion.”
Qureshi returned after an adjournment with a litany of grievances, and accused the opposition of leading the country down a dangerous path.
“History will expose all those, who set the stage for this move to topple the government,” he said, to chants of “vote, vote” from the opposition.
