ISLAMABAD, Mar 5 (NNN-APP) – Pakistani Prime Minister, Imran Khan, said yesterday that, he will seek a vote of confidence tomorrow, from the country’s parliament, after his party lost one of the two seats for Senate, against opposition alliance in the national assembly.
In an address to the country, the prime minister said, some of his party members took money from the opposition, to vote against their own party’s candidate. In order to give the disgruntled members a chance to choose their path in parliament, he will seek a vote of confidence.
Khan said, the disgruntled party members should openly disown the party tomorrow and stand with the opposition, adding that, if he failed to get a confidence vote he would sit on the opposition benches.
The ruling party’s de-facto Finance Minister, Abdul Hafeez Sheikh, lost his seat to former Prime Minister, Yousuf Raza Gilani, in a close contest, despite the ruling party’s majority in the lower house, following which the opposition demanded the prime minister’s resignation and also hinted at bringing a motion of no-confidence against him.
In his address, Khan said, he did not want to work under the pressure of the opposition, so he himself volunteered to seek the vote of confidence.
Khan’s party lodged a case in the country’s apex court, prior to the Senate elections, to allow the polls to be contested through open ballot, but the plea was rejected by the court.
Though the ruling party won most of the seats from provincial assemblies, making it the largest party in the upper house of parliament, yet losing Sheikh’s seat for the Senate was termed as an “upset” by local analysts.– NNN-APP
