174 MPs voted in favour of no-trust motion; NA Speaker, Deputy step down; Treasury benches MNAs did not participate in voting; Khan leaves PM office; Shahbaz lauds members of Opposition for their patience and thanks Zardari, Maulana Fazl and other party leaders for support
Imran Khan was finally voted out from the position of prime minister through a vote of no-confidence motion at the end of a day full of high political drama which also saw National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser and Deputy Speaker Qasim Khan Suri resigning from their positions.
The no-confidence motion against the former prime minister was passed during a crucial session of National Assembly which commenced at 10:30am on Saturday morning and culminated in wee hours of Sunday.
As many as 174 lawmakers voted in favour of the motion to oust the premier without PTI dissenters. Ayaz Sadiq couldn’t cast vote as he was chairing the session. Treasury benches MNAs left the house after National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser stepped down from his post and handed over the charge to PML-N leader Ayaz Sadiq.
“I have decided to resign as Speaker of the National Assembly,” said Asad Qaiser while chairing the lower house of the parliament one last time. The no-confidence motions were moved against them by the opposition parties.
Qaiser’s announcement of stepping down from his post came after an emergency petition was filed in the Islamabad High Court, seeking to restrain ex-Prime Minister Imran Khan from de-notifying Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa.
The IHC said that it would hear the matter on emergency in view of extraordinary political situation in the country.
As the political uncertainty gripped the country late on Saturday, the Supreme Court also announced opening its gates. Chief Justice of Pakistan Umar Atta Bandial had also arrived at the apex court.
Sadiq after initiating the process for voting on no-trust motion adjourned the house for four minutes. The house then resumed proceedings at 12:02am on Sunday.
“174 members have recorded their votes in favour of the resolution, consequently the resolution for the vote on no-confidence against Imran Khan, the prime minister of Pakistan, has been passed by a majority,” Ayaz Sadiq announced after the process of voting was completed.
Following the announcement of the result, the speaker called Shahbaz Sharif to deliver a speech.
“We cannot thank Allah enough for allowing us to see this new day,” said Shahbaz.
He lauded the members of the Opposition for their patience and particularly thanked former president Asif Zardari, JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman, and several other party leaders for their support.
As soon as Qasier announced his resignation from office, most of the treasury members stood up and exited the House, leaving the Opposition in the National Assembly in a clear majority.
Despite the PTI government’s hectic efforts to avoid voting on the no-confidence motion against Imran Khan, the historic session of the National Assembly to decide his fate began on Saturday at 10:30am.
There were many deliberations that Chief of Army Staff Qamar Javed Bajwa might be replaced, but Imran Khan refuted the reports, and nothing of the sort took place.
Imran Khan was elected on August 18, 2018, and his term ended on April 10, 2022. He remained in office for 3 years 7 months and 23 days.
Benazir Bhutto and Shaukat Aziz had faced the no-confidence motions, but both of them defeated the move and remained in power, making Imran Khan the first premier to be voted out — on the day when Pakistan marks Constitution Day (April 10).
Meanwhile, after Asad Qaiser handed over the reins to PML-N’s Ayaz Sadiq for the National Assembly, it seemed that the vote on the no-confidence motion would go ahead. Consequently, it meant that PTI leader Imran Khan would have to leave the Prime Minister’s Office.
Soon after the development, PTI’s Senator Faisal Javed Khan tweeted that he saw off PM Imran Khan from his official state residence.
“Just saw off Prime Minister Imran Khan from Prime Minister House. He walked out gracefully and didn’t bow down. He has lifted the entire nation,” tweeted Faisal. The PTI leader left the PM Office for his residence in Banigala.
