Opposition claims to have support of 202 NA lawmakers.
Shahbaz, Zardari, Fazl to address press conference shortly.
86 Opposition lawmakers parties sign no-confidence motion.
ISLAMABAD: The Opposition has submitted the no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Imran Khan in the National Assembly Secretariat, Geo News reported Tuesday, citing PML-N spokesperson Marriyum Aurangzeb.
A total of 86 lawmakers from the Opposition parties have signed the no-confidence motion, sources said. JUI-F’s Shahida Akhtar Ali, PML-N’s Khawaja Saad Rafique, Marriyum Aurangzeb, Ayaz Sadiq, Rana Sanaullah, Khawaja Saad Rafique and PPP’s Naveed Qamar and Shazia Marri submitted the no-trust motion and requisition for a session to the NA Secretariat.
Read more:The numbers game of no-confidence motion against PM Imran Khan
— Screengrab of the resolution.
Meanwhile, the three bigwig Opposition leaders — PPP Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari, PML-N’s Shahbaz, and JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman — will address a press conference later today, sources said.
In a major development, former senior minister Punjab Aleem Khan joined Jahangir Khan Tareen’s PTI faction a day earlier as he had reservations with the prime minister, but did not specify whom will the group support once the no-confidence motion is moved.
Current numbers
Government:
PTI — 155
MQM-P — 7
PML-Q — 5
BAP — 5
GDA — 3
Independent — 2
AML — 1
JWP — 1
Total: 179
Opposition
PML-N — 84
PPP — 56
MMA — 15
BNP-M — 4
Independent — 2
ANP — 1
Total: 162
Opposition claims to have the numbers
The Opposition is confident of having the numbers to remove PM Imran Khan, sources said, adding that they are claiming of having the support of 202 National Assembly members.
The Opposition has claimed that they have the backing of 28 PTI lawmakers and others from an ally of the government, sources said.
At least 16 PTI lawmakers have the support of PML-N, four with PPP, and two with JUI-F, sources said.
Meanwhile, six more members from the PTI are in contact with the PML-N, sources said.
Read more:Top PTI leaders seek Usman Buzdar’s dismissal as CM Punjab: sources
PM Imran Khan meets AGP
Prime Minister Imran Khan summoned the Attorney General of Pakistan (AGP) at the Prime Minister’s House to discuss legal aspects as the Opposition tabled the no-trust move against him. According to sources, the AGP briefed the premier regarding the legal implications of the move.
PTI vows to defeat no-trust motion
In a consultative meeting after the submission of the no-trust motion, the ruling party vowed to foil the Opposition’s bid to de-seat PM Imran Khan.
The huddle, attended by the PM and federal ministers, including Asad Umar and Shafqat Mehmood, was informed that all the party members and allies are united under Imran Khan’s leadership.
Read more: PPP’s ‘Awami March’ heads for Islamabad with clock ticking on Bilawal’s ultimatum to PM Imran
It was decided that the prime minister will visit MQM-P’s office in Karachi.
“Opposition will be defeated and we are not scared of no-trust motion,” PM Imran Khan told the participants.
He said that the government is focused on performance.
Jahangir Tareen group also holds meeting
A key player in the Punjab riddle, the Jahangir Khan Tareen group, also held its meeting today with their leader chairing the session through a video link from London.
Tareen is in the UK for medical treatment for the last couple of weeks but holding regulation meetings with his loyal parliamentarians after both the government and the Opposition sought their support for a no-trust move.
Speaking to the media after the group’s meeting, convened to discuss the no-confidence motion tabled in the National Assembly, Punjab MPA Nauman Langrial said they will only be held on minus-Buzzdar formula.
Answering a question about their nominee for the new Punjab chief minister, after the removal of Usman Buzdar, Langrial said Tareen will decide the matter.
Langarial said that the faction has given the authority for all the decisions to Jahangir Tareen. “We have also told Aleem Khan that he will have to abide by the decisions of Tareen. There will be no disagreement on his decision.”
He said that the faction has been contacted by various parties.
“Every member of the Tareen group agrees that talks can only proceed if the minus-Buzdar formula is adopted.
The MPA said that the group has come up with a mandate, and is thinking well for the nation and PTI.
He further said that Tareen will decide whether Aleem Khan will be the chief minister or not.
‘Army stands with me’
Speaking to a select group of YouTubers today, the prime minister said he was confident that the government was not going anywhere and that this was the Opposition’s last move.
“After this, nothing will happen against this government till 2028 […] Opposition will face a humiliating defeat,” the prime minister said.
The prime minister said he knows Jahangir Tareen — who has had sour ties with the PTI — and he would never support “thieves”.
Requisation for summoning National Assembly under Article 54(3) of the constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan
“My lawmakers are being offered Rs180 million [for supporting no-confidence motion]. I told them to take the money and distribute it among the poor.”
PM Imran Khan said CM Buzdar was an easy target, and that’s why he was being targeted.
Endorsing the PTI leaders’ narrative of international conspiracy behind Imran Khan’s removal, the premier said people who do not want an independent foreign policy would support the no-confidence motion.
The Opposition’s heightened activities are backed by money, he claimed.
“The army stands with me, it will never support thieves […] and since the people are not backing the Opposition anymore, they are claiming that the establishment is supporting them,” he said.
“A mind game is going on right now, and I am a master at it,” he said.
While addressing at a ceremony in Rawalpindi’s Fatima Jinnah University earlier today, PM Imran Khan had said he was ready for everything the Opposition throws at him.
“The powerful desires NRO and threaten to topple the government if they don’t get it but I will not give them that as long as I am alive,” PM Imran Khan said.
“Once again, I make it loud and clear that I will not extend the gang of thieves and dacoits any relief in the shape of NRO (national reconciliation ordinance),” he said.
PML-N lawmakers told to stay in Islamabad
Separately, a PML-N parliamentary party meeting was held earlier today where the party president, Shahbaz Sharif, had announced the plan for submitting the no-confidence motion.
During the meeting, PML-N lawmakers were asked to remain in Islamabad for at least 20 days, sources said. The party members were warned that their absence during the tabling of the no-confidence motion would not be tolerated.
‘100% sure’ of success
Speaking to journalists after a meeting of the Opposition leaders at Zardari Hosue a day earlier, PML-N’s Rana Sanaullah said he was “100%” sure that the no-confidence motion against the government would be successful.
“We will soon be relieved of this curse; the leaders will announce the decisions that were made today,” the former provincial minister said.
ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court Monday indefinitely adjourned the hearing on the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) petition against the top court’s order of holding Punjab’s general elections on May 14 after the court was apprised that a law for the review of suo motu judgements had come into effect.
The Supreme Court Review of Judgements and Orders Bill, 2023, came into force Friday after President Arif Alvi’s assent. The law states that for reviewing a suo motu judgement, a bigger bench — than the one that issued the order — will hear the case.
“In case of judgements and orders of the SC in exercise of its original jurisdiction under Article 184 of the Constitution, the scope of review on both facts and law, shall be the same as an appeal under Article 185 of the Constitution,” the law reads.
A three-member bench — headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Umar Ata Bandial and comprising Justice Ijaz Ul Ahsan and Justice Munib Akhtar — heard the plea.
This is the same bench that issued the April 4 verdict — under Article 184 (3) or the suo motu law. It had directed the commission to hold elections in Punjab in the mid of May and ordered the federal and Punjab governments to provide assistance to the ECP.
Despite the top court’s order, the federal government expressed its inability to provide funds to the election commission and the armed forces had said they could not provide security due to the ongoing law and order situation.
So even with the presence of the order, the polls did not take place on May 14.
‘Happy’ CJP
At the outset of today’s hearing, Attorney General for Pakistan Mansoor Usman Awan told the court that a law for challenging suo motu orders has come into effect.
He added that under the new law’s section 2, the orders issued under Article 184 (3) could be appealed against.
“This law will have retrospective effect,” he noted, at which Justice Akhtar said this is why ECP lawyer Sajeel Swati is smiling.
Responding to the AGP, CJP Bandial said the situation is interesting. He added that the court understands the need for reviewing suo motu orders.
Through the Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Act, 2023, the government created a new “judicial jurisdiction”, the CJP noted, adding that the rulers tried intervening with the court’s administrative matters.
“But I am happy that this law [the review act] is only related to Article 184(3).”
The CJP added that “everyone” should reconsider their stance.
“After the May 9 incidents, try to find a silver lining. Try to bridge the differences. Try to bring balance and peace to the system and hold elections through the right procedure.”
Court did not invalidate commission: CJP
Moving on, the CJP told the attorney-general that he must have read the court’s judgement in the audio leaks commission case. “Keep in mind that the court did not invalidate the commission,” CJP Banidal remarked.
It may be noted that the Supreme Court Friday stayed the proceedings of the high-powered judicial commission formed to probe the audio leaks related to the judiciary, as well as the federal government’s notification on the commission’s constitution.
Justice Qazi Faez Isa, when he resumed the proceedings of the audio leaks commission the next day, raised questions over the SC order stopping the judicial panel from working.
Today, CJP Bandial said that the court has to protect the independence of the judiciary.
The top judge remarked that things will not work when secret meetings take place.
“It is a historical accident that there is only one chief justice,” he added.
The CJP said that the court had seen the notifications for the Memogate Commission, Abbottabad Commission and the commissions set up in the Shahzad Saleem murder case. He said that all the judicial commissions are constituted at the will of the chief justice.
“If you want to investigate something, it should be done through proper procedures. I will not form a commission consisting myself,” he added.
The top judge also gave the option of investigations through another judge, saying that “this political temperature will not improve livelihood and law and order”.
Sources say Imran Khan put on ECL on NAB’s suggestion.
Say federal cabinet approved circular summary for move.
Say decision to add Bushra Bibi’s name to ECL also made.
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan’s name has been placed on the Exit Control List (ECL) in the light of the £190 million settlement case, sources told Geo News Monday.
The former prime minister — who had been ousted via a vote of no-confidence last year — has been facing a slew of cases including the infamous £190 million settlement case related to the transfer of multi-million pounds from the UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA), in which his wife Bushra Bibi is also an accused.
Khan had been arrested by the Rangers from Islamabad High Court (IHC) premises earlier this month in the same case, which triggered countrywide violent protests.
The sources said that Khan’s name has been put on the no-fly list as per the recommendation of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Rawalpindi, after the federal cabinet’s approval for the circular summary.
They said that the decision to place the former first lady’s name on the ECL has been taken and the anti-graft watchdog will write to the Interior Ministry in this regard.
‘No plans to travel abroad’: Imran Khan
It may be noted that the names of Khan and Bushra Bibi, along with over 600 PTI leaders and former assembly members had been added to the no-fly list as per the Federal Investigation Authority’s (FIA) orders for alleged involvement in the May 9 violence.
However, the former premier, after being restricted from leaving the country thanked the government for doing so and said that he had no plans to travel abroad.
Citing reasons behind his plans, Khan said he neither has “any properties or businesses abroad nor even a bank account outside the country.”
However, if he does get an opportunity to go for a holiday, Khan said he will choose the country’s northern mountains terming the sites as his “favourite place on earth.”
Thousands of party workers and leaders were arrested during the crackdown on the PTI on May 9 for allegedly inciting the riots that claimed at least 8 lives and injured dozens of others.
The £190 million settlement case
The PTI chairman is facing charges of corruption of billions of rupees in a case involving a property tycoon.
Khan — along with his wife Bushra Bibi and other PTI leaders — is facing a NAB inquiry related to a settlement between the PTI government and the property tycoon, which reportedly caused a loss of £190 million to the national exchequer.
As per the charges, Khan and other accused allegedly adjusted Rs50 billion — £190 million at the time — sent by Britain’s National Crime Agency (NCA) to the Pakistani government as part of the agreement with the property tycoon.
They are also accused of getting undue benefit in the form of over 458 kanals of land at Mouza Bakrala, Sohawa, to establish Al Qadir University.
During the PTI government, United Kingdom’s National Crime Agency (NCA) seized assets worth 190 million pounds from the property tycoon in Britain.
The agency said the assets would be passed to the government of Pakistan and the settlement with the Pakistani property tycoon was “a civil matter, and does not represent a finding of guilt”.
Subsequently, then-prime minister Khan got approval of the settlement with the UK crime agency from his cabinet on December 3, 2019, without disclosing the details of the confidential agreement.
It was decided that the money would be submitted to the Supreme Court on behalf of the tycoon.
Subsequently, the Al-Qadir Trust was established in Islamabad a few weeks after the PTI-led government approved the agreement with the property tycoon.
PTI leaders Zulfi Bukhari, Babar Awan, Bushra Bibi, and her close friend Farah Khan were appointed as members of the trust.
Two to three months after the cabinet’s approval, the property tycoon transferred 458 canals of land to Bukhari, a close aide of the PTI chief, which he later transferred to the trust.
Later, Bukhari and Awan opted out as the trustees. That trust is now registered in the name of Khan, Bushra Bibi and Farah.
NAB officials were earlier probing the alleged misuse of powers in the process of recovery of “dirty money” received from the UK crime agency.
Following the emergence of “irrefutable evidence” in the case, the inquiry was converted into an investigation.
According to the NAB officials, Khan and his wife obtained land worth billions of rupees from the property tycoon, to build an educational institute, in return for striking a deal to give legal cover to the property tycoon’s black money received from the UK crime agency.
Social media users have schooled Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan for spreading misinformation after he tweeted an old video of a burning truck citing it belonged to his party’s lawmaker, Malik Shahzad Awan, from Karachi.
Both Khan and his party’s social media team, took to Twitter to share videos of burning trucks claiming that they belonged to the lawmaker. They also alleged that Awan was being pressured to quit the party and following his refusal to do so, his vehicles were burned.
However, the claims were soon refuted by social media users who called out the PTI chief for propagating lies and misinforming his followers.
They verified that the videos were, in fact, of trucks which were burned during a fire incident in Nowshera’s oil depot a year ago.
The cricketer-turned-politician and PTI eventually had to delete the tweets, which they earlier posted in haste without verifying the origins of the video.
In the now-deleted tweets, Khan wrote: “Our MPA from Sindh (Karachi) Malik Shahzad Awan was pressured to leave PTI. When refused, his fleet was put on fire and destroyed. All PTI ticket holders and aspirants today are facing this fascism, our fundamental rights are being openly violated while our judiciary helplessly watches on.”
Screenshot of Imran Khan’s deleted tweet.
The PTI, meanwhile, tweeted: “Our MPA from Sindh Malik Shahzad Awan’s trucks have been put on fire when he refused to leave PTI. His business has been completely destroyed.”
Screenshot of PTI’s deleted tweet.
After the civil and military leadership resolved to punish the rioters and instigators of the May 9 violent protests which erupted after the arrest of Khan — who faces a slew of cases ranging from corruption to terrorism — droves of PTI leaders have quit the party with some either shifting their allegiance to other parties and others bidding adieu to politics altogether.
The exodus confronting his party has been termed by Khan as ‘forced divorce’, particularly after prominent names including Shireen Mazari, Fawad Chaudhry, Imran Ismail and Ali Zaidi, among others, parted ways with PTI and Khan.
“We had all heard about forced marriages in Pakistan but for PTI a new phenomenon has emerged, forced divorces,” Khan — a former prime minister — said in a tweet.
The party’s leaders have been announcing their departure as not only public and private buildings but also military installations — including the General Headquarters in Rawalpindi — were attacked on May 9.