Pakistan: National Assembly meets today for no-trust session; Imran Khan clings to power by alleging conspiracy

Pakistan’s National Assembly is scheduled to assemble today at 4pm for a crucial session during which debate on the no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Imran Khan will be held.

The resolution against the embattled premier was tabled by the Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Shehbaz Sharif on March 28 and it was approved for debate the very same day.

According to a 24-point agenda of the session today, the debate on the no-trust motion against the PM is fourth in order.

Yesterday, Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry said Prime Minister Imran Khan had decided to present a ‘secret letter’ — purportedly containing details of a “foreign conspiracy” to topple his government — during an in-camera session of the NA or a joint session of parliament, however, no date for when such a session would be called was given.

In recent days there has been a flurry of activity which resulted in several Khan allies deserting his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, tilting the scales firmly in the opposition’s favour.

A simple majority of 172 in the 342-seat National Assembly against the former cricket legend would cut short his tenure as PM. On Wednesday, the magic number was breached when his main coalition ally, the MQM, joined the opposition. It means on paper the opposition now commands 175 votes to the government’s 164.

Imran Khan, elected in July 2018 vowing to tackle corruption and fix the economy, isn’t going quietly. He hosted a massive rally on Sunday in Islamabad to show he remains wildly popular with his supporters.

Meanwhile, Pakistan’s Information Minister Fawad Chaudhury said on Thursday that Khan would be addressing the nation later in the day.

Separately, in a tweet, PTI Senator Faisal Javed Khan said that time of the address will be revealed later.

Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid, in a brief media talk, termed tomorrow and the day after as “important” and reiterated that prime minister would “fight till the last ball”.

The prime minister was originally expected to address the nation yesterday, however, the address was postponed without providing any reason.

In addition, Chaudhury announced that Khan had summoned a meeting of the National Security Committee (NSC) on Thursday afternoon.

The NSC, which is the highest forum in Pakistan for coordination on security issues, is chaired by the prime minister and includes key federal ministers, the national security adviser, services chiefs and top intelligence officials.

The development comes a day after the premier shared a letter – purportedly showing evidence of a foreign conspiracy to oust his government – with his cabinet members in a hurriedly called meeting, which was not attended by PTI’s two major allies — Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) and Balochistan Awami Party (BAP) — despite being invited.

PM Imran also called a selected group of TV anchors and informed them that “the language of the letter was threatening and arrogant” and that Pakistan would face dire consequences if the no-confidence motion failed.

However, the premier did not show the letter to the media.

This rush to share the ‘secret letter’ with the cabinet and some journalists came after it became clear that the prime minister had lost his majority in the National Assembly (NA) following the MQM-P’s decision to support the joint opposition in the no-trust resolution against the prime minister.

A key ally of the PTI government in the Centre, the MQM-P has seven seats in the NA and after its decision to part ways with the government, the opposition has gathered the support of 177 MNAs, five more than the 172 required to gain a majority.