ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Peoples Party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said that the opposition will stage a sit-in and move to the Supreme Court of Pakistan against the ruling of the deputy speaker on no-confidence motion and dissolution of assemblies.
“The speaker has done an unconstitutional thing in the Supreme Court,” he said in a video statement.
In an unprecedented and surprising move, Deputy Speaker Qasim Suri rejected the no-confidence motion presented against Prime Minister Imran on the grounds of being contrary to the Article (5) of the constitution of Pakistan.
According to Article 5:
- Loyalty to the State is the basic duty of every citizen
- 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
The deputy speaker has adjourned the session till April 25. The opposition lawmakers surrounded the speaker dais in protest over his ruling.
After a delay of over half an hour, Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry started the session with a lambasting speech, alleging the opposition members to be involved in a foreign conspiracy to change the government.
Read more: NA Deputy Speaker Qasim Suri rejects no-confidence motion against PM Imran
“On March 7, our official ambassador was invited to a meeting attended by the representatives of other countries. The meeting was informed 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.
