Political activity in the country’s capital, Islamabad, and elsewhere has intensified following a no-confidence motion in parliament against Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan.
Earlier in the day, the speaker of parliament extended the vote of no confidence in the prime minister until Monday, but the opposition Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI-F) and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) have already fielded candidates in different parts of the capital. The daughter has announced a large protest or long march and protest rallies.
The ruling and opposition parties are already predicting victory in the no-confidence motion.
The other party, the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), says that on March 27, one million people from all over Pakistan will gather at the Parade Ground in the capital Islamabad to prepare for the event.
Ruling party officials described the meeting as a referendum on Pakistan’s support for Prime Minister Imran Khan.
Prime Minister Imran Khan is scheduled to address a similar meeting in Kamalia.
The Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI-F) protest, dubbed the ‘Inflation’ March against inflation, started from Quetta on Friday and will be joined by its state information secretary Abdul Jalil Jan from Peshawar today. The protesters left.
Senator Hafiz Hamdullah, a member of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam party in the Pakistan Senate, had earlier said that a joint meeting of all the opposition parties would be held on March 28 at J9 Srinagar Road in the capital Islamabad.
The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) has also announced that its supporters will leave Lahore, the capital of Punjab province, for Islamabad on Saturday to take part in the massive protest.
Former Prime Minister Mian Nawaz Sharif’s daughter and party deputy leader Maryam Nawaz will lead the protest along with opposition leader Mia Shahbaz Sharif in the Punjab Assembly, party officials said.
Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, the leader of the opposition Pakistan People’s Party, is scheduled to address a rally in the Parachinar area of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa today.
Pakistani officials say Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed has said there should be no problems in getting people to the capital and that officials should ensure that political parties meet at designated locations.
Pakistani officials say they have taken steps to secure the capital.
Members of Pakistan’s National Assembly are expected to vote on whether to vote for Prime Minister Imran Khan on Monday.
The coalition of opposition parties needs the votes of 172 members of parliament to win the no-confidence motion, which they claim they have won, as some members of the ruling party have joined them.
Another daughter, Prime Minister Imran Khan, says opposition parties will be “surprised”.
The ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and its allies have 178 votes in favor of parliament, according to the Pakistan National Assembly website.
This includes 155 members of the PTI, three from the MQM and five from the BJP, five from the PML-Q, three from the GDA and one from the Awami Muslim League.
The other parties have 162 votes, including the largest opposition party, the Pakistan Muslim League-N 84, the Pakistan People’s Party 57, the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal Ittehad 1, the BNP four and the Awami National Party one.
Independent members of parliament (who are not members of any party) are also members of the opposition.
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