No-trust motion: Pakistan NA session adjourned till Sunday after opposition's protest

The crucial National Assembly session of Pakistan to debate the no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Imran Khan, which resumed after a three-day recess on Thursday, was adjourned minutes after it began.

Deputy Speaker Qasim Suri, who presided over the session, adjourned the session till 11:30am on Sunday (3 April), reports DAWN. This comes amid prime minister Imran Khan's address to the nation tonight.

At the beginning of the session, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM) on Babar Awan moved a motion to adjourn the session so the assembly hall could be used for the Parliamentary Committee on National Security's meeting that is scheduled to be held at 6pm. However, the motion was rejected after voting.

Subsequently, the speaker opened the floor for questions, however, the opposition MNAs continued to insist that the speaker call for a vote on the no-confidence motion today amid chants of "go Imran go".

Terming the opposition's attitude "non-serious", Suri adjourned the session till Sunday when the vote on the no-confidence motion is expected to take place.

He also announced that the meeting of the parliamentary committee would be held in Committee Room No 2.

Khan has been facing mounting criticism of his performance, including charges of his management of an economy beset by high inflation and rising deficits, and he lost his majority in the Lower House on Wednesday when the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) quit his coalition.

Parliamentary committee meeting at 6pm

Following the Imran Khan's decision to show the letter to parliamentarians, National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser on Thursday summoned a meeting of the Parliamentary Committee on National Security at 6pm.

In a statement, the National Assembly Secretariat said the meeting would be presided over by the speaker while the leaders of all parliamentary parties have also been invited to attend.

"A briefing on the secret letter will be given in the national security committee meeting," according to the statement.

The Meeting comes a day after the prime minister in a hurriedly called cabinet meeting shared the letter with his ministers. The ministers from Balochistan Awami Party and the MQM-P were not present as they have already joined the opposition ranks. Khan later shared the contents of the letter with senior journalists of the country. 

Opposition has upper hand

A day earlier, the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P), previously a key ally of the PTI-led coalition government, formally announced that it was joining the opposition ranks.

After pulling out the seven-member MQM-P, the opposition parties have now managed to cross the magical figure of 172 — the minimum number required to form the government at the Centre — and now enjoy the support of 177 members in the National Assembly even without nearly over a dozen dissidents of the ruling PTI, who had already publicly declared the withdrawal of their support to the prime minister.

"We had 26 seats in the previous assembly. Under planning, these were reduced to seven. But now we have proved that neither a government can be formed nor removed without these seven seats," said MQM-P convener Dr Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui while formally making the announcement of the party's decision which, he added, had been endorsed by the party's decision-making Rabita Committee.