The National Assembly on Thursday passed a resolution expressing “full confidence” in Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, days after reports suggested the premier was due to hold a vote of confidence.
Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, chairman of the Pakistan Peoples Party and the foreign minister, tabled the resolution, on which 180 Members of the National Assembly (MNAs) voted yes.
The resolution stated: “The National Assembly of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan reposes its full confidence in the leadership of Mian Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif, as the Prime Minister of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.”
After PM Shehbaz passed the vote of confidence, NA Speaker Raja Pervez Ashraf said “Mian Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif has obtained the vote of confidence from the National Assembly and commands the confidence of the majority of the members of the National Assembly as prime minister of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan”.
On Monday, widespread rumours claimed that PM Shehbaz will hold a vote of confidence before Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb refuted the reports.
In a tweet, she stated that “PM Shehbaz has neither planned to hold a vote of confidence nor is there a need since he was elected by a coalition of elected parties in April 2022”.
However, just three days later, addressing on the floor of the National Assembly after securing the confidence vote on Thursday, PM Shehbaz thanked the coalition partners for reposing their trust in his leadership.
“Today, Pakistan is facing serious challenges. The country’s economy was prospering before the 2018 elections,” he said while blaming the PTI-led government in 2018-2022 for the prevailing economic crisis.
The “entire world” is aware of how 2018 election results were manipulated. Former chief justice of Pakistan Saqib Nisar ordered to stop the recounting of votes when we challenged the election results, he said.
The development comes as Pakistan remains engulfed in a political crisis with the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), the main opposition party, reiterating its demand for elections in the country.