The weeks-long political turmoil in Pakistan reached its climax Sunday as the NA deputy speaker prorogued a much-awaited sitting of the lower house of parliament without allowing voting on a no-trust motion against Prime Minister Imran Khan.
In a shock move, National Assembly Deputy Speaker Qasim Khan Suri on Sunday dismissed the no-trust move against Prime Minister Imran Khan, terming it against Article 5 of the Constitution. Suri chaired the session after opposition parties filed a no-confidence motion against Speaker Asad Qaiser.
Suri dismissed the motion, terming it against Article 5 of the Constitution, which states that "loyalty to the State is the basic duty of every citizen".
Fawad Chaudhry
At the outset of the session, Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry took the floor and referred to the clause, reiterating the premier's earlier claims that a foreign conspiracy was behind the move to oust the government.
"On March 7, our official ambassador was invited to a meeting attended by the representatives of other countries. The meeting was told that a motion against PM Imran was being presented," he said, noting that this occurred a day before the opposition formally filed the no-trust move.
"We were told that relations with Pakistan were dependent on the success of the no-confidence motion. We were told that if the motion fails, then Pakistan's path would be very difficult. This is an operation for a regime change by a foreign government," he alleged.
The minister questioned how this could be allowed and called on the deputy speaker to decide the constitutionality of the no-trust move.
Qasim Khan Suri
Qasim Khan Suri rejecting the no-confidence motion noted "No foreign power shall be allowed to topple an elected government through a conspiracy." He also said that the points raised by the minister were "valid".
He dismissed the motion, ruling that it was "contradictory" to the law, the Constitution and the rules. The session was later prorogued.
According to Article 5: Obedience to the Constitution and law is the [inviolable] obligation of every citizen wherever he may be and of every other person for the time being within Pakistan
Dissolution of NA
Subsequently, in another shock move, PM Imran, in an address to the nation, said he had advised the president to "dissolve assemblies".
He also congratulated the nation for the no-trust motion being dismissed, saying the deputy speaker had "rejected the attempt of changing the regime [and] the foreign conspiracy".
The premier further said he had written to the president with advice to dissolve the assemblies, adding that the democrats should go to the public and elections should be held so the people could decide who they wanted in power.
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