Pakistan PM summons cabinet meeting tonight as threat of no-confidence vote looms
Apr 09, 2022
Islamabad [Pakistan], April 9 : Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has called an emergency cabinet meeting on Saturday at a time when a crucial National Assembly session on the no-confidence motion is underway.
Khan has summoned a special meeting of the federal cabinet tonight at 9 pm. He will chair the meeting where important decisions are to be taken, Geo News reported citing sources.
While addressing the Pakistan National Assembly, Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari on Saturday said that sabotaging the no-trust motion would imply contempt of court.
Speaking in the National Assembly, Bilawal said that if voting does not take place it will be a violation of the constitution. He reiterated that the court has bound the speaker to not sabotage the no-trust vote.
Bilawal said that if any conspiracy was being hatched against Pakistan before March 7, then it should have been aroused at that time. "Imran Khan came up with the idea of this conspiracy only when he lost the majority. Imran Khan is still not present in the House and cannot defend himself," said Bilawal.
The Chairman of PPP slammed Imran Khan for "running away from transparent elections".
The ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on Saturday filed a review petition against the Supreme Court's verdict setting aside the National Assembly Deputy Speaker's rejection of the no-trust motion against Imran Khan, reported local media.
The petition, filed against the April 7, 2022 verdict by the apex court, seeks a review of the ruling given by the five-member bench headed by Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial, ARY News reported.
The development came after Imran Khan finalized his consultations with legal experts over the matter, the report added.
The government will plead for suspension of the verdict and for the National Assembly to be allowed to function according to the rules, reported the media outlet citing the sources.
Notably, in the wake of the apex court's decision, Imran Khan chaired a meeting of senior party leaders and legal experts ahead of a National Assembly session for the vote on the no-confidence motion. He also had a telephonic conversation with National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser to discuss the strategy for the voting on the no-trust motion.
