At least 10 parliamentarians of Imran Khan’s ruling party have come out openly and said that they are going to vote against him when the no-confidence motion is tabled in Pakistan National Assembly on March 28.
These dissidents claim more of their party MPs will be joining them in a day or two. They said that they are staying in Sindh House in Islamabad on their own and are not under “safe” custody of the opposition as claimed by Imran Khan.
One of the MPs told Geo News that there were around 24 ruling party MPs staying at Sindh House, citing fears of government action against them similar to that by police on Parliament Lodges last week.
"No one has given us any money. God willing, we will give our vote based on our conscience. We are not afraid of anyone. We are here only as a precautionary measure." Raja Riaz, an MP of the ruling party told Geo News.
Nearly two dozen PTI lawmakers are in Sindh House for safety reasons, Tareen group’s Raja Riaz tells @HamidMirPAK #GeoNews pic.twitter.com/zFRMy5IPgn
— Geo English (@geonews_english) March 17, 2022
Another dissident MP Noor Alam Khan said that he was very disappointed over the allegations being levelled against dissident lawmakers by Imran Khan.
"When we came to Imran Khan Sahib and had voted for him, were we given Rs 200 million then? When we voted for the speaker did we get 200 million then?” Noor Alam said on Geo News.
According to Pakistani experts, with the two dozen MPs of the ruling PTI switching sides, Imran Khan’s government is in a minority now.
“The game’s over for Imran Khan. It has been shown on all television screens how his own lawmakers said they had no confidence in his leadership,” said Najam Sethi in his programme on Naya Daur TV.
The combined opposition needs a simple majority of 172 lawmakers in Pakistan’s 342-strong National Assembly, the lower house of parliament.
"We have more than 172 votes in the National Assembly. The government has lost already before the no-confidence vote. To save himself from further humiliation, Imran Khan should immediately resign,” said former prime minister and an opposition leader Shahid Khaqan Abbasi.
Also Read: Sensing defeat, loyalists are jumping out of Imran Khan’s sinking ship in Pakistan
According to Pakistani sources, Imran Khan told his core committee members “ready to sit in opposition” but not without a “tough” fight.
Imran Khan is planning to deliberately misinterpret the Constitution to disqualify all the PTI members who intend to vote in favour of the no-confidence motion even before they cast their vote but according to Pakistani experts “this will be unconstitutional and Imran Khan knows this.”
It should also be noted that the MPs who vote against their party will possibly eventually be de-seated but experts say that many parliamentarians belonging to the ruling party admit in private how they will not be able to win on a PTI ticket in the next elections. “In constituency politics, votes are all that matter”.
Imran Khan has called “millions” of supporters at the D-chowk, outside the Pakistan National Assembly on March 27, a day before the voting.
Given the nervousness and frustration of Imran Khan and the confidence with which the opposition is planning its moves, there are fears of a showdown on the streets.
