Islamabad: The crucial session of the Pakistan National Assembly will begin on Friday in which the no-confidence motion against Imran Khan will be moved.
According to the National Assembly Secretariat, the house will meet at 11 am, with Speaker Asad Qaiser in the chair, reported the Express Tribune.
A 15-point agenda of Friday's session issued by the Secretariat on Thursday night also includes the no-confidence motion.
However, despite the fact that the resolution has been placed on the agenda for today’s sitting, it may not be tabled for discussion on the same day.
The National Assembly Secretariat on Thursday issued a 15-point ‘Orders of the Day’ for the NA session, which included the no-confidence resolution, but it is believed that normal house proceedings will not be held on the first day of the sitting due to death of MNA Khayal Zaman.
It is parliamentary convention that the first sitting after the death of an MNA is limited to prayers for the soul of the departed and tributes fellow lawmakers wish to pay them.
Insiders suggest that the NA speaker may adjourn the session until March 30 or 31. However, Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry told Dawn that there was no plan to adjourn the NA session.
Earlier, Prime Minister Imran Khan, chairing a meeting of the PTI political committee, directed party leaders to finalise arrangements for what he called “the country’s biggest public meeting” on March 27.
Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry said the prime minister was satisfied with the first hearing by the Supreme Court of the government’s reference about no-confidence resolution and said “so far the observation of the apex court have been encouraging” for the government.
The opposition believes it has the strength in the 342-member National Assembly to defeat Khan in a no-confidence vote, which requires a simple majority in the house. Dissident members of PTI in Parliament and dissatisfied coalition allies may join the opposition to vote out Khan.
Meanwhile, Pakistan’s powerful military is also widely perceived to have withdrawn its support for Khan, emboldening the opposition to strike.
Khan’s precarious position in Parliament is embodied by the dissident PTI Member of National Assembly (MNA) Noor Alam Khan, who claims to be part of a bloc of at least 24 dissident MNAs that could vote against the prime minister.
“We will make our final decision when we enter the House,” Noor Alam told Al Jazeera. “But I don’t know what the prime minister can do. I think it’s over.”
