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Imran Khan rejects proposal to file no-confidence motion against PM
- PTI not in mood to shift focus from Panmagate case in SC
Opposition Leader in National Assembly Syed Khursheed Shah Thursday moved a joint privilege motion claiming Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had breached the privilege of the House with his misleading speech that he made on the floor of the House in what he termed a ‘blatant breach of the privilege of the whole House’.
The motion was moved under Rule 95 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the National Assembly 2007. Parliamentary leaders of all the opposition parties signed the privilege motion, including PTI Vice Chairman Shah Mehmood Qureshi and chief whip Dr Shireen Mazari, Syed Naveed Qamar of PPP, Sahibzada Tariqullah of JI, Tariq Bashir Cheema of PML-Q, Aftab Sherpao of QWP, Ghulam Ahmed Balour of ANP.
“The plea taken by the prime minister’s lawyer in SC on Monday, 16th of January, to do away with PM’s speech delivered in the NA while explaining the trail of funds used to purchase properties in London and elsewhere as mentioned in Panama Papers, using Article 66 as a shield, are an admission that the PM did not tell the truth to the assembly,” the motion reads.
“The Prime Minister while speaking on the floor of National Assembly on May 16th, 2016, had explained the trail of funds used to purchase property in one of the most expensive areas of London. In that statement, he revealed the trail of money.”
However, the motion reads, the details shared by his lawyer in the Supreme Court are in sheer contrast with the ones stated by PM in the House which illustrates that the prime minister willfully deceived the House on the issue, which is a clear case of contempt of the House.
“As per Article 91(6) of the Constitution of Islamic Republic of Pakistan, Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively responsible to Parliament and have to state the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. This is blatant breach of the privilege of the whole House. The matter should immediately be taken up for discussion and action,” the motion concluded.
Imran Khan rejects proposal to file no-confidence motion against PM
Avoiding a move that could have added to Nawaz Sharif’s woes, Imran Khan rejected a proposal to get on board with other opposition parties to table a no-confidence motion against the PM for breaching privilege of the Parliament.
While the Supreme Court is hearing the Panamagate case, the prime minister is still in a comfortable position to defeat any no-confidence motion in the NA where the treasury benches enjoy a two-thirds majority.
A source in the PTI told Pakistan Today that a party legislator from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa had raised a proposal during the party’s strategy committee meeting to take the opposition parties into confidence and jointly move a no-confidence motion against the prime minister for breaching the privilege of the National Assembly by lying over the money trail related to his offshore properties.
“Though the mover wanted to table the no-confidence move just to build more pressure on the prime minister, the proposal was knocked down by party leadership,” the source added.
The source said that for the time being, PTI Chairman Imran Khan wanted to focus on the apex court. The party is in no mood to take up the matter at the parliamentary forum where it lacks numerical strength.
“Such a move would also lead PTI to be more dependent on fellow opposition parties which lack commitment to challenge the prime minister with full force,” the source said and added that the privilege motion was enough to raise the matter in the Parliament.
