Joint opposition agrees to move no-confidence motion against KP CM: sources

PESHAWAR: Opposition parties in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Assembly on Wednesday agreed to move a no-confidence motion against KP Chief Minister (CM) Pervez Khattak in a bid to halt a possible dissolution of the provincial assembly, according to sources.

Reportedly, opposition members have signed the motion but the parties have agreed not to table it until later in the provincial assembly secretariat.

On the other hand, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Minister Mushtaq Ghani claimed that the provincial government was not afraid of such a move, saying that the members could move a no-confidence motion by all means.

The number of PTI lawmakers in KP Assembly is 61, including those who have a falling-out with the government. The total number of opposition members is 54, including ministers belonging to Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) and other political parties. PTI risks losing the majority in the provincial assembly if JI ministers express a lack of confidence in the chief minister.

The news came a few weeks after a no-confidence motion was moved in the Balochistan Assembly against former Chief Minister Sanaullah Zehri, who tendered his resignation on the same day when the motion was to be tabled in the assembly. Opposition members had bagged majority votes against the former chief minister to have him de-seated. Zehri was replaced by Abdul Quddus Bizenjo as Balochistan’s chief minister.