Shehbaz, Bilawal lash out at NA deputy speaker, PM over NA session adjournment

Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Shehbaz Sharif Thursday said that the NA Deputy Speaker Qasim Suri once again failed to follow the constitutional procedure by calling the debate session on the no-confidence motion off.

Addressing a press conference flanked by other joint Opposition leaders, including PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, Shahbaz said that when the deputy speaker saw that the members of the Parliament wanted to vote against the premier, "he ran away."

He further said that the entire nation saw that 172 Opposition members were present in the house, however, the deputy speaker did not allow the voting.

"The whole country is shocked, including the judiciary," he maintained.

The Opposition leader further added that he, along with Bilawal, went to the NA secretary after the deputy speaker adjourned the session till April 3.

"The secretary informed us that the decision regarding not holding the debate related to the no-confidence motion was taken by the deputy speaker," Shahbaz said.

He said the speaker has written his name in history in black.

Shahbaz questioned: “Does this "selected" prime minister have any constitutional or ethical justification left?”

He further added that the Opposition had decided not to take extreme measures which are against the law, adding that all members of the joint Opposition showed the Imran Khan-led government that his time is over and the “finishing line is near.”

Addressing the government’s allegations against former prime minister Nawaz Sharif regarding his involvement in “foreign conspiracy”, Shahbaz said that the people of Pakistan are "ashamed" of the word used by the premier.

“He [Imran Khan] stooped to the lowest level of impropriety by levelling baseless allegations against Nawaz, accusing him of having contacted Israeli intelligence agencies and inviting them to get involved in national matters of Pakistan,” he said.

At this, the Opposition leader questioned the premier regarding PTI’s foreign funding donors.

He said that according to the law regarding foreign funding, "you cannot take funds from foreign donors no matter what their religion or nationality is."

“Your donors include Israelis and Indians, and you did not even declare your funds before the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) and State Bank of Pakistan (SBP),” he added.

He warned Imran not to force them to tell his secrets.

Shehbaz said they can’t resort to the third class tactics like Imran Khan. He said the nation knows that the corruption is in the house of Imran Khan.

He said the united opposition has succeeded in front of the nation today.

He said the alleged ‘threat letter’ has not been produced before the parliament yet and claimed that the letter was a fake and a fraud.

He said today the PTI’s prime minister has been defeated.

Talking to the media, Bilawal said Imran Khan has no escape now as they had the support of 175 members in the parliament today.

He said if Imran Khan thought that he can get an NRO then it’s too late for that.

Bilawal said PM Imran Khan was pleading to everyone he could find to save his office, but "no one can help as there is no safe passage, face-saving, or a backdoor route to save him."

But he said there is an honourable way for the prime minister: he should resign voluntarily. 

"He should face us in the National Assembly, so we can take the country out of the political crisis."

The PPP chairman said it was too late for the prime minister to secure a National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO), adding that the more he stays in power, the more it would "hurt the country".

"Khan sahib's steps are creating problems for the country. Pakistan's foreign policy, economy, and institutions are hurting — and all these steps by the prime minister to just save his office are inappropriate," he said.

Bilawal said the joint Opposition wants to tell the premier that the method through which he came into power was "controversial", but the way he will be ousted will be democratic.

"We did not knock on the door of the courts and decided to opt for a democratic way [...] please, PM Imran Khan, have some integrity and resign," he added.