KARACHI, Pakistan
Pakistani lawmakers are going to vote on a no-trust motion from the opposition against Prime Minister Imran Khan on Sunday in the capital Islamabad.
An embattled Khan, who time and again, has refused to step down and vowed to contest the no-confidence motion, claims to have a "surprise" in store for a confident opposition alliance, which asserts that it has "more than enough" votes to oust the premier.
The combined opposition, led by the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), submitted the no-confidence motion against Khan on March 8, contending that the prime minister has lost the trust of the majority of lawmakers.
Khan requires 172 votes to hold power with a simple majority in the 342-member lower house of parliament – the National Assembly.
His Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), which has 155 members in the National Assembly, had formed a coalition government with the support of five allied parties in 2018.
The cricketer-turned prime minister, already under pressure for his handling of a struggling economy, has effectively lost the majority in parliament after three of the five allies – Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan, Balochistan Awami Party, and Jamhoori Watan Party – joined the opposition ranks.
So much so, about two dozen of Khan’s own lawmakers have also announced support for the opposition, which now claims to have a majority in the lower house of parliament and has called on the premier to step down.
According to the current tally, the PTI and its allied party, the Pakistan Muslim League Quaid-I-Azam group (PML-Q), and Grand Democratic Alliance, have 162 members in the lower house, whereas the opposition claims to have the support of 199 lawmakers.
Islamabad’s Red Zone sealed off
Meanwhile, footage aired on local broadcaster Geo News showed law enforcement personnel sealing off Islamabad's "Red Zone" area with containers and barb wires to prevent any protests during the no-trust vote.
The Red Zone houses the parliament house, the supreme court, the prime minister and president offices, and other important government installations.
The PTI has threatened that it would not let its dissidents vote on the no-trust motion. The Interior Ministry has called additional 1,500 paramilitary troops to maintain law and order on the day.
Battle in Punjab
Coinciding with the no-trust motion in the Center, the government and the opposition are locked in an intense battle to grab power in the bellwether Punjab province, which has the highest number of lawmakers than any other provincial assembly in the country.
The PTI has nominated Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi, the head of the PML-Q, as the new chief minister, whereas the opposition has pitched Hamza Shehbaz, son of opposition leader Shehbaz Sharif, for the coveted post.
Currently, Elahi and Hamza are serving as the speaker, and the opposition leader in the Punjab Assembly respectively.
The voting to elect the new chief minister will also be held on Sunday.
With 183 members, the PTI holds a majority in the Punjab Assembly, whereas the PML-N and its ally PPP have 165 and 7 members respectively. The dissidents from both sides are likely to play a decisive role in the election of the new chief minister.
Elahi, who served as the Punjab chief minister from 2002 to 2007, enjoys the support of a dissident group of PML-N lawmakers, whereas Hamza has managed to get the support of several dissident members from the PTI.
Usman Buzdar from the PTI stepped down on Monday as Prime Minister Khan nominated Elahi for the coveted post to get PML-Q's five crucial votes against the no-confidence motion.
Khan calls for protest
Khan said that if he wins the no-confidence motion in parliament, he may call a new election.
Speaking to local ARY TV on Friday, Khan said opposition parties sent him three options through the military establishment: resign, face a no-confidence motion, or announce a fresh election.
"I will not resign," Khan declared, adding that if he wins the no-confidence vote, he may call a new election.
Accusing the US, Pakistan’s longtime ally, of hatching a conspiracy to oust him for his “independent foreign policy,” he blamed the opposition parties for being “stooges of the foreign power.”
Khan on Saturday asked his supporters to take to the streets across the country ahead of the no-confidence vote.
"Come out of your homes today and on Sunday to protest against this big conspiracy. Protest is your right but it should be peaceful and without any violence," he said.
Responding to live questions from citizens by telephone, he said he has plans to get treason cases lodged against "perpetrators" of the conspiracy, and the party dissidents, who would vote in favor of the no-trust motion.
In a related development, the government on Saturday filed a petition in a court in northeastern Lahore city, seeking cancellation of a bail the court had granted to Shehbaz, who is the opposition's candidate for the premiership, and Hamza last year in a money laundering case.
The court has summoned the father and son on April 4.
