PPP long march concludes as Pakistan opposition submits no-confidence motion against PM

Islamabad: The long march led by the opposition Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leader Bilawal Bhutto Zardari concluded in the capital late on Tuesday night opposition moved no-confidence motion to seek the dismissal of the prime minister.

Thousands of PPP supporters marched from the city of Karachi to Islamabad seeking the ouster of Prime Minister Imran Khan. “Democracy is the best revenge and we are sending him home through a democratic weapon” which is the no-trust motion, Bilawal told the crowd at Islamabad’s D-chowk gathering point.

The march led by the son of Pakistan’s assassinated former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, coincided with a no-confidence motion moved against PM Khan in the parliament. Pakistan’s opposition parties, united under the nine-party Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) alliance, submitted a formal request to seek a parliamentary vote of confidence against PM Imran Khan accusing him of mishandling the economy.

The opposition needs a simple majority of 172 of the total 342 members to depose Khan from office and claim they have the numbers needed. A resolution for a vote of no-confidence against the prime minister must have signatures of at least 20 per cent of the members of the National Assembly, following which the speaker has a maximum of 14 days to summon a session. “If the resolution is passed by a majority of the total membership of the National Assembly, the prime minister shall cease to hold office” according to Article 95 of the Constitution. No prime minister in Pakistan’s history has been removed through a no-confidence vote.

Analysts say that the next three weeks would be crucial for the government. On Wednesday, PM Khan reached Karachi to hold meetings with the leadership of government allies and win their trust.

PM Khan believes that his government survive the move and would come out stronger. “The government will not be ousted and will emerge stronger” the prime minister said, adding that this was the opposition’s ‘last attempt’ to dismiss him. “We will defeat them in such a manner that they will not be able to recover until 2028,” he told reporters.

In March 2021, Khan survived a no-confidence vote, receiving 178 votes reposing confidence in his leadership after the premier voluntarily sought the vote following an upset in Senate elections.