Pakistan parliament session resumes after lengthy delay

PBC News:  The National Assembly session to decide the fate of Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has resumed after a lengthy delay.

The session was originally adjourned till 12:30pm but was seemingly delayed as opposition and government members held meetings.

NA Speaker Asad Qaiser was chairing today’s session which began at 10:30am sharp, in accordance with the Supreme Court’s directives, and with the recitation of the Holy Quran. It was followed by the national anthem and prayers for the recently deceased mother of MNA Shazia Sobia.

Voting on the no-confidence motion against the prime minister is the fourth item on the day’s agenda. While the opposition came out in full force, very few members of the treasury benches were in attendance before the session was adjourned. Prime Minister Imran Khan was also not present.

A meeting was held between the treasury and opposition benches in the speaker’s chamber after the session was adjourned, where the latter called for holding proceedings according to the Supreme Court’s directives.

Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi and PTI leader Amir Dogar participated from the government’s side while Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, Rana Sanaullah, Ayaz Sadiq, Naveed Qamar and Maulana Asad Mahmood represented the opposition.

Following this, a meeting of the opposition’s parliamentary group was called at the opposition leader’s chamber.
Shehbaz calls on Qaiser to follow SC’s orders

Taking the floor shortly after the session began, Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Shehbaz Sharif hailed Thursday as a historic day in the country’s history when the apex court rejected the deputy speaker’s ruling. According to the PML-N leader, the SC decision had made Pakistan’s future “bright”.

He called on Qaiser to conduct proceedings in accordance with the SC’s directives, stating that parliament would be writing history today. “Today, parliament is going to defeat a selected prime minister in a constitutional manner,” he declared.

Shehbaz told the speaker to let bygones be bygones and to stand for the law and the Constitution. He urged the speaker to play his role and to have his name “written in history in golden words”.

“You must cash in on this moment with conviction and with your heart and your mind. Don’t go off of the dictation of a selected prime minister,” he urged Qaiser, adding that the apex court’s directives were clear.

Responding to Shehbaz’s earnest plea, Qaiser assured the opposition leader that he would conduct proceedings according to the law and the Constitution.