The opposition lawmakers in Pakistan have accused Prime Minister Imran Khan of buying time to muster support.
It comes after Pakistan National Assembly’s crucial session on a no-trust motion against embattled the prime minister was adjourned on Friday without tabling of the resolution.
The voting on the resolution should be held at least three to seven days after it has been laid before the National Assembly, according to rules.
Opposition leader Shehbaz Sharif, from the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, took aim at Asad Qaisar, the speaker of the lower house, for adjourning the no confidence proceedings until after the weekend.
“We strongly protest it,” Sharif told a news conference on Friday said.
NA Speaker continues to trample upon constitutional provisions. This partisan behaviour does not suit the custodian of the House. Adjournment of NA session is part of desperate efforts to disrupt no-confidence process. U cannot stop the inevitable through such underhand tactics!
— Shehbaz Sharif (@CMShehbaz) March 25, 2022
Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, leader of the rival Pakistan People’s Party, described the speaker as acting like a “personal servant” of the prime minister.
Addressing a press conference outside Parliament House shortly after the session was adjourned, PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif warned that if the no-confidence motion was not allowed to move on Monday, then they would not be responsible for what would come next.
“Asad Qaiser acted as a PTI worker instead of the National Assembly speaker, he said, adding that the opposition would resort to legal and constitutional protests if Qaiser tried to “act as a slave (of Khan)”.
He also called for the speaker to be tried under Article 6 of the Constitution, which deals with high treason.
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“The no-trust motion is going to be our democratic weapon. We will move towards free and fair elections,” Bilawal said, adding that the prime minister had lost “his majority and government”.
Reacting to Sharif’s comments, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi demanded an apology from him for his tirade against the speaker.
“The words you have used against Asad Qaiser are inappropriate and I want you to retract the remarks immediately,” he said.
Qureshi also refuted claims that the government was “running away” from the no-confidence motion. “We will deal with it in a democratic, political, and legal way.”
The political turmoil comes as Pakistan faces a recurring economic crisis, and Khan’s government is banking on the International Monetary Fund to release the next tranche of a $6 billion rescue package to shore up dwindling foreign currency reserves.
Khan, a former captain of Pakistan’s national cricket team, came to power in 2018, after the leaders of the country’s two mainstream parties were discredited by accusations of corruption.
Political analysts say the country’s powerful military had supported Khan’s rise to power, and that the generals have now become disenchanted with his leadership. Khan has denied receiving backing from the military.
(With inputs from agencies)
