Prime Minister Shehbaz gets 180 votes from MNAs in fresh vote of confidence move today
ISLAMABAD: About 180 MNAs gave their vote to express confidence in the leadership of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday.
Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto presented the move of vote of confidence in the House.
Earlier, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif decided to take a vote of confidence today after consulting the party leaders and coalition partners.
The Premier decided this on Thursday during a luncheon he hosted for the MNAs of the coalition partners.
The luncheon was arranged to discuss the situation arising after the Supreme Court of Pakistan asked the government to hold talks for elections. About 176 MNAs belonging to the coalition partners attended the luncheon.
File photo of prime minister Shehbaz Sharif
Speaking at the luncheon meeting, Prime Minister said that the government sticks to its earlier stance that the powers and decisions of the Parliament could not be changed by the courts.
Importantly, the three-member bench of the apex court had said before Eid holidays that the Prime Minister must have the majority of the House all the time.
Therefore, keeping in view this situation, the Prime Minister discussed the matter with the party leaders, and coalition partners, and decided to take a vote of confidence from the Parliament members on Thursday evening.
Earlier, Speaker of the National Assembly Raja Pervez Ashraf asked the chief justice of Pakistan Bandial to avoid getting involved in the political thicket.
NA Speaker stated this in a letter written to the Supreme Court’s Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial.
Addressing the CJP, Speaker said, “The country’s top court must avoid getting involved in the political thicket as far as possible.”
NA Speaker wrote the letter after the National Assembly observed the court’s encroachment upon the National Assembly’s power to approve expenditures from the Federal Consolidated Fund.
Meanwhile, Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said that the CJP Bandial-led three-member bench of the Supreme Court committed Contempt of Parliament by giving its verdict against the decision of the Parliament.
He said that the issue of contempt of the Parliament against the three judges, including the chief justice should be handed over to the Privileges Committee of the Parliament.
File photo of Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari.
Bilawal argued that how could an institution give the order to set aside the order of the Parliament?
Foreign Minister said, “There are grim chances of success if negotiations are held under the Supreme Court led negotiations, which he called Punchayat.”
Bilawal said it was not the role of the Supreme Court to change the Constitution. He said that the PPP made the Constitution and the 18th Amendment.
He said this was done to unite the federation for the honor of the Parliament.
“Parliament is the mother of all institutions, it is being insulted,” he added.
“This impression is being created that we are violating the Constitution. Contrary to the facts, we have never thought of violating the Constitution,” Bilawal added.
He said that his party was ready to remove the misunderstanding regarding the Constitution.
Bilawal further said that politicians are bound by the order of the House. They are not bound by the order of any other institution, he added.
