Pak opposition cries foul after no-trust vote deferred

Islamabad [Pakistan], March 31 : Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly and Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N) President Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday lambasted National Assembly Deputy Speaker Sadiq Sanjrani for deferring no-confidence motion against Imran Khan and adjourning the assembly till April 3.
Speaking with the media outside the National Assembly with Pakistan Peoples Party chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, Sharif said, "Speeches were meant to happen in the National Assembly, and it was under Speaker to decide on no-confidence motion within 4-days. However, the Deputy Speaker of National Assembly, Sadiq Sanjrani when he saw that none of the MNAs were ready to question and were ready for the no-trust vote, Sanjarani stood up and ran inside. Everyone saw that, Bilawal and I saw it."
The no-trust vote against Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan was deferred to April 3 on Sunday and the proceedings of the National Assembly of Pakistan were adjourned till April 3 soon after it was convened to discuss the no-confidence motion against Khan.
"I asked the secretary what have you done, he said that the speech was going to happen, had already told the Speaker, whatever Sanjrani did was his will, we already had briefed him. They are not at fault. The Deputy Speaker did not follow the law and procedures," said Shehbaz.
Expressing his frustration over the delay in the no-trust vote, he said, "On March 8 we tabled the motion and today it is March 31, everyone can see how law and democratic values have been demolished. The mandate of 22 crore population has been played in the Assembly. Even the judiciary is watching it, the country is surprised, asking what is happening?"
Shehbaz, while hitting out at Imran Khan's tactics to delay the motion, said, "Now, do the selected PM Imran Khan have any political, lawful way is left? If, he still uses conspiracies theory to drag this motion, then it is against the constitution, even Speaker also. He has blotted his name in the history of Pakistan. We had decided that we will not use unparliamentary methods and all the 172 members were present in the Assembly for the no-confidence motion under a united Opposition against Imran Khan -- PPP, PML-N, PML-Q, MQM-P, BAP, ANP."
Earlier, on Monday, Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N) President Shahbaz Sharif tabled the no-confidence motion. With this move, Imran Khan became the third Pakistani PM to face the no-confidence motion.
After the no-confidence motion against the Imran Khan government was tabled in the National Assembly with a total of 161 votes in favour, the proceedings were adjourned till March 31. Muttahida Qaumi Movement - Pakistan (MQM-P) joined hands with the opposition to support them in the no-confidence motion against Imran Khan, the Pakistani government lost its majority in the lower house of the Pakistan parliament.
Shehbaz also lambasted Khan over corruption charges and said that he and his family were involved in foreign funding case and they took money from other countries without disclosing it to the Election Commission of Pakistan as well as the State Bank of Pakistan.
Opposition parties have said that Khan, who had come to power on the slogan of fighting corruption, was "found hiding crucial information" from the Election Commission of Pakistan regarding foreign funding case.
According to News International, The State Bank of Pakistan's documents handed over to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) in the PTI foreign funding case show that information about transactions worth more than USD 2 million dollars from 14 different foreign countries and hundreds of millions rupees' local transactions into the party's bank accounts was not provided to the ECP authorities.
The report said the documents also show that Imran Khan's PTI received USD 29,800 donations in 2013 from a businesswoman and her Pakistani American husband but their donation was also concealed from the ECP.
Talking about the "threat letter", Shehbaz said that he had asked Imran Khan to bring it in the Assembly and disclose the details of it.
Khan had said that a Pakistani envoy posted in a foreign country wrote the memo that he flashed on March 27 at a PTI rally and termed it "threatening", sources told Geo News.
Shehbaz termed all these tricks and gimmicks of Imran Khan to save his chair, however, he added that days of him as Prime Minister is over and the writing is on the wall for him.