No-trust motion: NA session adjourned till Monday

ISLAMABAD: The much-anticipated session of the National Assembly to deliberate on the no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Imran Khan filed by the Opposition has been adjourned till Monday.

The session started with the recitation of the Holy  Quran and held prayers for PTI MNA from Hangu, Khayal Zaman, and others who lost their lives during Peshawar and Sibi terror attacks.

As expected, NA Speaker Asad Qaiser then adjourned the session till March 28 4:00pm citing parliamentary traditions, according to which only Fateha is offered and speeches to honour the deceased are held on the first session held after the death of a member.

"Prior to this, NA sessions have been adjourned 24 times due to the demise of fellow parliamentarians," Asad Qaiser said before announcing to adjourn the assembly session.

Amid claims of the combined Opposition to have obtained the support of required numbers for the success of the no-confidence motion against the prime minister, a 15-point agenda was issued by the NA Secretariat for the 41st session on Thursday night, with the no-trust motion on the 'Orders of the Day'.

The Opposition had submitted a no-confidence motion against PM Imran Khan on March 8 and the 14-day constitutional deadline as per Article 54(3) to convene the NA session on the Opposition requisition has expired on March 21.

“This House is of the view that the Prime Minister of Pakistan, Imran Khan, has lost the confidence of the majority of the members of the National Assembly of Pakistan; therefore he should cease to hold office," the text of the resolution as placed on order of the day said.

Today is the day of our victory: Bilawal

Before the start of the session, PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari told the reporters that today is the day of their victory.

“Today, after three years of hard work, the no-confidence motion has been included in the agenda — Orders of the Day — for the NA session,” he said, adding that going forward, people of Pakistan will see victory while “selected” [government] will face defeat.

Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Shahbaz Sharif said that a strategy will be devised today during the session.

Replying to a journalist's question regarding matters being settled through the backdoor, Shahbaz questioned that who said “matters are being settled like this?”

Meanwhile, former president and PPP co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari said: “InshaAllah everything will get better” as this is an important turning point of the country’s politics.

Rules per Article 54(3)

As per Article 54 (3) of the Constitution, the Speaker is bound to summon the session within 14 days of receipt of the requisition. The Speaker, however, summoned the National Assembly session on March 20 for March 25, citing reasons that neither the National Assembly Hall nor any other venue was available to hold proceedings of the House till March 23.

The Speaker, however, on Wednesday tweeted that he, as the custodian of the National Assembly, would fulfil his constitutional obligations and proceed in accordance with Article 95 of the Constitution and Rule 37 of Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the National Assembly, 2007.

Meanwhile, Article 95 says that a resolution of no-confidence shall not be voted upon before the expiration of three days and not later than seven days, from the day the resolution is moved in the National Assembly. It says that if the resolution is passed by a majority of the total membership of the House, the prime minister shall cease to hold the office.

As per Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the National Assembly, the Assembly shall not be prorogued unless the resolution of no-confidence is disposed of. Rule 37 says the Assembly shall not be prorogued unless the motion is disposed of, or leave if the leave is granted, the resolution has been voted upon.