PM says won’t resign ahead of no-trust vote

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan said that he would not resign under any circumstances and claimed that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) will emerge victorious from the no-confidence resolution against him submitted by the joint-opposition.

While talking to journalists on Wednesday, the prime minister said, “I will never resign rather I will give a big surprise to the joint-opposition. I will reveal all my cards one day before the voting on no-confidence resolution. I will stand victorious in the “no-confidence match” and the opposition will be stunned over the loss of their votes in support of the no-confidence resolution.”

“No one should be under the false impression that I will sit at home. I will not resign, and why should I? Should I resign due to the pressure from thieves?” the PM said.

He said “Maulana Fazlur Rehman is a 12th player and it is now time to remove him from the team.” Answering a question, the prime minister confirmed that he met Chaudhry Nisar, adding his relations with the former interior minister were over 40 years old.

'Will give a big surprise to opposition,' PM Imran says ahead of no-confidence vote

Answering another question, he asked whether he should give up even before the fight under the pressure of “thieves” and that this could be someone’s misunderstanding about him. He said the opposition parties had already shown their cards but the PTI would give them a big surprise.

The PM termed the armed forces the “most precious asset” of the country and said Pakistan would have been disintegrated into three parts had there been no army. He said Pakistan Army was inevitable for the country; therefore, no one should malign the institution for the sake of politics.

The PM said the objective of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan Peoples Party's (PPP) politics was just to conceal their own theft.

He claimed that if any party member or ally would leave PTI, they would do so for money.

“Whatever I am doing is not for the premiership. I am clearly saying that they [the opposition] will not win the no-confidence match. The people of Pakistan have turned in our favour,” said the prime minister.

The prime minister said the PTI was set to hold a historic gathering in Islamabad on March 27.

The opposition wants to throw Khan out after rallying thousands of people on a campaign that he has mismanaged the economy, governance, and foreign policy.

The joint opposition has submitted a no-confidence resolution against the prime minister in the National Assembly Secretariat.

The National Assembly Speaker has summoned session of the House on 25 March at 11am.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022