New Delhi: India has found half a dozen mentions in the political turmoil faced by Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan. Facing a tough battle, the cricketer-turned-politician and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader’s fate will be decided post-iftar today when the Parliament will decide on the trust vote.
On Friday, Khan in an address to the nation accused the US of trying to unseat him and praised India, describing it as a “self-respecting nation” (khuddar qaum) to which no world power can dictate terms. “We and India got our independence together but Pakistan gets used as tissue paper and thrown away”, Khan said.
Pakistan’s National Assembly was convened on Saturday following the direction of the Supreme Court, to continue the debate on the no-confidence motion tabled by the opposition.
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Maryam slams PM
In response to Khan’s speech on Friday evening, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) vice-president and Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s daughter Maryam Nawaz said if the PM liked India so much, he should move to the neighbouring country.
In a tweet, Nawaz also drew a distinction between former Indian Prime Minister Atal Vajpayee and Khan. “There were 27 no-confidence motions against the various prime ministers in India. No one has played with the constitution, democracy and ethics. Vajpayee lost by one vote, went home — he did not take the country, constitution and nation hostage like you!”, she said.
Having lost a key coalition partner Muttahida Qaumi Movement Pakistan to the Opposition earlier this week, it is unlikely that Khan will survive the vote. Last Sunday, the Opposition had continued assembly proceedings despite its illegal dissolution and completed the voting process, declaring the motion successful with 197 votes. At least 172 votes are needed for such a trust vote to be passed.
Meanwhile, reacting to Khan’s speech his former wife Reham Khan took to Twitter to say that he was “campaigning” for India knowing he would not survive the trust vote. “He knows he can’t win again so decided to campaign for India? Khuddar qaum (self-respecting nation) suddenly!!,” she tweeted.
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Qureshi backs Imran Khan
Earlier in the day, the Parliamentary session was briefly adjourned by the Speaker when Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi made a reference to India’s “accidental” firing of a missile into Pakistan. “There was no loss of life but when we asked them for an explanation, they said it was accidental. Will India tell the UN Security Council (UNSC)?” he said.
Qureshi warned that the incident could have led to an “accidental war”. “It is such a dangerous game that India has played. Where were the standard operating procedures (SOPs) and the protocols?” the foreign minister asked.
During the debate, the foreign minister also backed Khan’s allegations about a “foreign conspiracy” spearheaded by the US to topple the government. “They (US) want to view Pakistan and India on different platforms. They said that they look at India through the lens of China. The PTI government wants good relations with everyone and expand our diplomatic reach including with Russia, China,” he said.
If Khan loses the trust vote today or he decides to quit, a new government is likely to be formed under Leader of Opposition and PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif.
Pakistan’s Supreme Court had on Thursday restored the National Assembly, five days after it was dissolved by President Arif Alvi when Deputy Speaker Qasim Suri dismissed a no-trust vote against Khan. The move was widely viewed as Khan’s attempt to evade the vote and hold snap elections.
(Edited by: Manoj Ramachandran)
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