Leader of the opposition in National Assembly and PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif has censured Prime Minister Imran Khan, saying his “defeat was imminent” on Sunday – when the lower house of parliament is scheduled to vote on the no-confidence motion against the premier.
In a press conference, the opposition leader said the only cure for an “arrogant and stubborn” man’s illness is to oust his government through the legal process – a no-confidence motion. Shehbaz, responding to the prime minister’s allegations of a “foreign power” threatening to oust his government, said: “I do not speak on assumptions. I speak on solid evidence.”
Talking about PM Imran Khan’s address to the nation held a day earlier where he lashed out at the opposition for “conspiring with foreign powers”, Shehbaz said he does not listen to the premier’s speeches. “Have you no shame?” The opposition leader said that during the PML-N’s government tenure, Nawaz Sharif condemned drone attacks on every forum.
In his address to the nation, the premier had claimed that he was the first politician to raise his voice against drone attacks and that no other politician had done it before him. “His narrative of accountability has been shattered […] in the name of accountability, he took the worst political revenge against political opponents,” he added.
During the press conference, PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif telephoned Shehbaz and wanted to discuss the current political developments with him, but cutting the call short, Shehbaz told Nawaz that he was in the middle of a press conference and would talk to him later. “I am in a press conference […] we are in consultation with our allies,” he said.
As the political tensions are on the rise and the voting on the no-confidence motion is right around the corner, the prime minister took the opportunity to speak to the nation and express his thoughts. The prime minister’s long address included accusations against the opposition and “foreign powers”, his 25-year struggle in politics, and the need for following Islam.
The PTI effectively lost its majority in the 342-member National Assembly Wednesday when a coalition partner – MQM-P – said its seven lawmakers would vote with an opposition alliance. Before them, several other allies had switched sides.
Separately, dismissing Prime Minister Imran Khan’s allegations that the opposition is involved in a “foreign-funded conspiracy” to topple his government, Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari on Friday urged the premier to leave his office “respectfully” and not look for any “face-saving”. “The decision [to table no-confidence motion] was taken long before Imran Khan’s visit to Russia. We took many decisions during our CEC meeting in January,” he said while addressing a news conference in Islamabad.
Bilawal said that the opposition had been struggling to oust the PTI-led government for the past three years. “Did we know that the prime minister was going to visit Russia? Did we know that Russia was going to attack Ukraine? Mr prime minister, at least tell people lies which sound like truth,” he remarked.
The PPP chief said that if the prime minister is refusing to see the facts, it doesn’t mean that he is not going to lose. “If a common man had said something like what the prime minister is saying it would have been fine but when it comes from the mouth of a country’s leader, it damages the country,” he said and added that a routine diplomatic process has been made controversial.
