Islamabad: The government would face the no-confidence motion in a dignified manner and no member of the National Assembly would be stopped from voting, Minister for Foreign Affairs Shah Mahmood Qureshi said on Saturday.
In a statement, he said that the government would not compel anyone, but would remind the members of the National Assembly about their mandate and would face the no-confidence motion in ‘a political, democratic and legal manner.’ The resolution for a no-confidence motion had been submitted in the National Assembly, he said.
He said in the 47th session of the foreign ministers of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation it was decided to hold the 48th session in Pakistan, adding, letters had been sent to the foreign ministers of OIC and dignitaries would start arriving from Sunday.
Pakistan People’s Party chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari was worried, he said, adding that the OIC meeting was not an event of the government but of the state of Pakistan.
The Speaker of the National Assembly would determine the date for the tabling of no-confidence motion, he added.
He said the opposition was a grouping of people with different interests and they had come together to topple the government of Prime Minister Imran Khan.
The opposition alliance was not united and was just formed for a negative activity, he remarked.
The minister said the Pakistan Muslim League(N) had internal differences and the party members had different views on the issue of no-confidence motion against the Prime Minister.
Meanwhile, Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Farrukh Habib said that Bilawal’s statement that they would not allow the OIC meeting to be held in the National Assembly building was manifestation of the fact that for him, personal interest came before the interest of the country.
“Which external force did Bilawal want to please by making such a statement”, Farrukh Habib asked using his twitter handle. “Foreign ministers of 57 countries are coming to Pakistan which will improve the image of Pakistan in the world,” the minister said.
Government ‘will complete its term’
Minister for Information and Broadcasting Chaudhry Fawad Hussain while expressing optimism over return of the dissident lawmakers to the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), said ‘the government was going nowhere and would complete its five-year constitutional term.’
“The politics of Pakistan is incomplete without Prime Minister Imran Khan and likewise, no government in Pakistan is complete without the Tehreek-e-Insaf,” he said, while talking to the media flanked with Federal Minister for Power and Energy, Hammad Azhar.
PTI had issued notices to the “sell-outs”, Fawad said, adding that the ‘door for atonement’ was still opened as seven days had been given to them for returning to the party’s fold.
Referring to a phone call from family member of one of the dissidents, he said the brother of a lawmaker had told him that the whole family was embarrassed over the act of their sibling. He also sought the government’s help for release of his brother from the Sindh House, the minister added.
Every parliamentarian would be able to take independent political decision ahead of the no-trust motion, he said, adding all-out efforts would be made to ensure release of the lawmakers imprisoned at the Sindh House under the Sindh Police watch.
He said the matters with the ally parties would be resolved soon. There was no threat to the government in the past and it was not going anywhere now as everything including political chess board, its moves and future politics belonged to the PTI.
Fawad said the opposition was convinced by few people in media that the popularity of Prime Minister Imran Khan had declined, but now their enthusiasm had disappeared after witnessing the reaction from people in the backdrop of alleged horse trading.
He said efforts were afoot to end the current political uncertainty so that all the focus could be returned to the progress of economy which might be impacted by the politics.
“I want to convey the message of the Prime Minister that peaceful protest is our right but there should be no violence in this protest,” he said while paying tribute to the people who took to the streets to condemn the opposition’s foul play of horse trading.
