Pak Heads For Political Showdown Before No-Trust Vote

It’s been more than a week since the Opposition submitted a no-confidence motion against Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan but no official announcement yet on when Parliament will convene. Participants at a meeting of the core committee of the PTI (PM Imran Khan’s party) were told the government was in no hurry to call the National Assembly session. As per parliamentary rules, the Speaker must convene the session within 14 days of submission of the motion (the opposition submitted it on March 8). “The opposition is in haste because the (corruption) cases against them are about to conclude,” the PM said at the meeting. Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry has told a private TV channel that the opposition should take back the motion considering the global economic situation and the political bitterness that would be created, adding that the government “will see what can be given in return”. Faisal Javed Khan, a senator from PTI, tweeted earlier this week that the no-confidence motion would be taken up March 27. The “biggest rally in the history of Pakistan” would be held on March 27 at Islamabad’s Azadi Chowk, he claimed. The opposition is said to be contemplating a protest in Islamabad on the same day. A showdown looks imminent even before the battle shifts to the floor of the House, where both the government and the opposition claim to have the numbers.