Prime Minister Imran Khan has secured the vote of confidence. Interestingly, he was elected in 2018 with 176 votes, he has won the vote of confidence with 178 votes in 2021.
Prime Minister Imran Khan wins vote of confidence from National Assembly with 178 votes, announces NA Speaker Asad Qaiser.
— Asad Hashim (@AsadHashim) March 6, 2021
President Dr Arif Alvi had summoned the National Assembly to meet today at 12:15pm for this purpose.
Imran Khan is the second Prime Minister in the history of akistan who is going to the National Assembly for a ‘voluntary’ vote of confidence.
Prior to PM Khan, Nawaz Sharif had sought a voluntary vote of confidence from the Parliament after his reinstatement was granted by the Supreme Court in 1993.
The Opposition alliance, Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), is boycotting the NA session.
Read more: Why PDM boycotted National Assembly’s session?
After the events that transpired on March 3, when the government candidate Abdul Hafeez Sheikh lost to the opposition nominee Yousuf Raza Gillani in the Senate race for the Islamabad general seat, the prime minister announced on his own that he will seek a vote of confidence from the parliament — a bold move that has sent shock waves across the nation.
It is important to note that the Senate Elections were quite disturbing for the PTI. According to the returning officer, who announced the results after counting ended in the National Assembly, six of the total 340 ballots cast in the National Assembly were rejected. Gillani obtained 169 votes, whereas Shaikh got 164. One vote was not cast. The MPs were required to vote for 37 vacant seats of the Senate with 11 senators already elected unopposed from Punjab due to withdrawals from opposing candidates.
Polling was held for 12 seats each of Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 11 of Sindh and two of the federal capital. MPAs from the three provincial assemblies cast their vote for the candidates fielded from Balochistan, KP and Sindh, while MNAs voted for the representatives from the federal capital.
“PTI has unanimously decided that Prime Minister Imran Khan will take a vote of confidence from the National Assembly,” Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said while addressing a press conference along with Federal Ministers Shafqat Mehmood, Asad Umar, Shireen Mazari, Fawad Chaudhry, Syed Ali Haider Zaidi, Hammad Azhar and others.