Pak National Assembly session adjourned till 31 March after tabling of no-confidence resolution against PM Imran

After the no-confidence motion against Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan was tabled in the National Assembly with a total of 161 votes in favour, the proceedings were adjourned till 31 March.

Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly and PML-N President Shahbaz Sharif on Monday tabled in the National Assembly a no-confidence resolution against Prime Minister Imran Khan, reports DAWN.

Following the tabling of the resolution, the deputy speaker announced that debate on the resolution would begin on 31 March.

"The session is adjourned until 4pm on 31 March ," he said.

Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly Qasim Khan Suri presided the session.

Leader of the Opposition Shehbaz Sharif requested the chair for permission to present the no-trust motion against Prime Minister Imran Khan. "I will request that you (Suri) give permission to present this item in the house ... as the resolution was already on the agenda," he said addressing the NA deputy speaker.

Subsequently, voting was held to ascertain if the resolution should be tabled. According to NA rules, votes of at least 20 per cent of the total MNAs in the house — which means 68 members — are required to have the no-confidence resolution accepted for voting against the prime minister.

After the counting of the votes, the deputy speaker announced that 161 lawmakers had voted in favour of tabling of the resolution and hence, the "permission is granted to present the no-confidence resolution".

He then asked Sharif to present the resolution, at which the opposition leader rose and read out the resolution.

"Through this resolution, under clause 1 of Article 95 of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, this House resolve that it has no confidence in the prime minister, Mr Imran Khan Niazi, and consequently, he shall cease to hold office under clause 4 ibid," he said.

At the start of the session, Suri asked Adviser to the Prime Minister on Parliamentary Affairs Babar Awan to present the first agenda on the item.

Awan then presented a motion seeking the suspension of the question-answer session for the day under rule 69 of the Rules of Procedures and Conduct of Business in the NA.

Rule 69 states: "Except otherwise provided in these rules, the first hour of every sitting, after the recitation from the Holy Quran, and taking oath by members, if any, shall be available for asking and answering questions."

"I wish to move under rule 288 of the Rules and Procedures and Conduct of Business in the National Assembly, 2007, that the requirements of rule 69 of the said rules be suspended in respect of the question hour for today, March 20 and the starred question be treated as unstarred," Awan read.

The no-trust resolution against the prime minister was earlier expected to be tabled on Friday, but the proceedings were deferred after NA Speaker Asad Qaiser had adjourned the sitting within minutes and ignored Opposition Leader Shehbaz Sharif who wanted to seek the floor to deliver a speech.

He did not allow the opposition's no-trust resolution to be tabled after offering fateha for the deceased Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf MNA from Hangu, Khayal Zaman, as per the parliamentary tradition.

It is a parliamentary convention that the first sitting after the death of an MNA is limited to prayers for the soul of the departed and tributes fellow lawmakers wish to pay them.

Qaiser had stated at the time that according to tradition, the agenda was deferred to the next day when a member of the lower house passed away.

Later, the opposition had lashed out at the speaker for not giving floor to Shehbaz, stating that it was also a parliamentary tradition that the opposition leader was always given the floor whenever he stood up to speak.

Venting their anger at the speaker after the session, the opposition leaders had alleged that the speaker was running the parliament "like a member of the ruling PTI and not the custodian of the house"