Opposition approves no-trust against Imran Khan in ‘own’ session

In an unprecedented scenario, the opposition party in Pakistan continued the National Assembly proceedings - despite its dissolution by President Dr Arif Alvi - on Sunday and completed the voting process on the no-confidence resolution against Prime Minister Imran Khan.

Besides the opposition, the members of former allies of the government and 22 dissidents of the PTI voted in support of the resolution that was formally presented by Leader of the Opposition and PML-N president Shehbaz Sharif

PML-N leader and former speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, who presided over the sitting as a member of the panel of chairpersons, announced the result by declaring the motion successful with 197 votes, DAWN reported.

Although the session continued without the support of the secretariat staff and sound system after it was prorogued by Deputy Speaker Qasim Suri through a ruling disallowing the voting on the no-confidence resolution, the opposition declared the proceedings "legal and valid".

Despite prorogation of the assembly session and leaving of the house by the treasury members, a number of reporters stayed in the Press Gallery when they noticed that most of the opposition members were still occupying their seats. Senior opposition leaders, including Shehbaz Sharif and PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari left the assembly hall, but returned after holding some consultations.

In the absence of secretariat staff, Murtaza Javed Abbasi, who was deputy speaker during the PML-N government, was seen noting down the names of the members going into the lobby after registering their names after Sardar Ayaz Sadiq declared the vote open.

As soon as all the opposition members took their seats, Abbasi stood up and said the deputy speaker did not have the right to prorogue the sitting without completing the constitutional process of voting on the no-confidence resolution.  

He then announced the names of Amjid Ali Khan, Munazza Hassan and Imran Khattak of the PTI and Sardar Ayaz Sadiq to take the seat as presiding officer. Since the three PTI members were absent, Sadiq took the speaker's chair and conducted the proceedings.

First, Sadiq overturned the ruling of the deputy speaker after seeking approval of the members through a voice vote and then gave the floor to Shehbaz Sharif to formally move the resolution for voting.

Shehbaz Sharif in his brief speech lashed out at the PTI government's economic and foreign policies and thanked the former allies of the government and other parties for supporting the opposition's move.

Surprisingly, Chaudhry Salik Hussain, the son of PML-Q chief Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, also supported the opposition's resolution, thus confirming the reported rift in Chaudhrys' family. Besides him, PML-Q's Tariq Bashir Cheema also fulfilled his commitment and voted against Imran Khan.

After the completion of the voting process, Sadiq adjourned the proceedings till 6 April. However, the opposition members remained inside the assembly hall in anticipation of a possible Supreme Court's decision on the development.