Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said on Saturday that tabling the no-confidence motion is the opposition’s constitutional right, and to counter it is the government’s duty.
He, however, added that the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and its allies would defeat Pakistan Democratic Movement’s (PDM) purported no-confidence motion in parliament.
“The opposition’s move to oust Prime Minister Imran Khan will not succeed as all PTI MNAs and allied parties will stand firm to defend their leader and captain,” the foreign minister said in a statement.
Qureshi added that the opposition started its anti-government activities after the 2018 elections, "which exposed their intentions from day one.
"They did not even allow the prime minister to deliver his maiden speech in the assembly."
PDM announces no-confidence motion against PM Imran’s government
He further noted that the opposition had repeatedly failed in their efforts in the past and declared that they would meet the same fate again.
“The opposition parties would have been in the government if they had the required votes,” he added.
Qureshi said the opposition parties lacked unity within their ranks, and the purported motion of no-confidence is due to the pressure exerted by pending legal cases.
Earlier on Friday, PDM chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman announced to bring a no-confidence motion against PM Imran Khan-led PTI government in the National Assembly, but refrained from giving a time frame for the move.
Zardari assures Fazl of support in no-confidence move against govt
“We will first do our homework, so we cannot talk about the definite timeframe for this move,” he said while addressing the media after a meeting of the alliance.
The PDM chief said that the alliance would try to get the government's allied parties on board in order to get a voting majority in the National Assembly to oust Prime Minister Imran Khan through a no-confidence motion.
“We will ask them [coalition partners of PTI government] to have some mercy on the people of Pakistan the way they have been dealt with [by the current regime] during the last few years,” he added.