P.M. Khan and a delegation of PTI leaders meet members of the Balochistan Awami Party. Photo courtesy PID
Khan, facing no-confidence vote, met leaders of the BAP and GDA parties and urged them to continue supporting PTI-led government
Prime Minister Imran Khan on Monday continued his efforts to convince the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s ruling coalition partners to remain with the government and not join the opposition in ousting him through a no-confidence motion.
The united opposition on March 8 filed a no-confidence resolution against the prime minister with the National Assembly Secretariat. It also filed a requisition notice to summon a session of the Lower House of Parliament, paving the way for a formal vote against Khan. Following the opposition’s filing, the prime minister and his cabinet members have ramped up efforts to alleviate concerns of various members of the ruling coalition, including the Muttahida Qaumi Movement, the Pakistan Muslim League (Quaid), the Balochistan Awami Party and the Grand Democratic Alliance.
The prime minister has already met the leaders of the PMLQ on several occasions but has failed to secure any unqualified support from them. The MQM, similarly, has maintained that its “options are open,” adding that it would decide whether or not to support the premier “in the national interest.”
On Monday, Khan met senior leaders of BAP at Parliament Lodges in Islamabad, with sources familiar with the meeting saying they had complained about his government’s failure to resolve Balochistan’s problems. BAP Parliamentary Leader Khalid Magsi, per the sources, told the prime minister that the no-confidence motion was a democratic move and should be dealt with accordingly.
They said that Magsi had refused to commit to supporting the PTI in the upcoming no-trust vote, conveying only that “consultations are underway” and the party would reach a decision “soon.” This stands in contrast to claims by Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed, who had claimed to media last week that BAP was “fully” behind the prime minister.
GDA meeting
Also on Monday, the prime minister met a delegation of the Grand Democratic Alliance (GDA) led by Minister for Inter-Provincial Coordination Fehmida Mirza. In an appearance on private broadcaster Geo News after the meeting, she said that her party had assured the prime minister that it believed in the continuity of the present assemblies, regardless of the outcome of the no-confidence vote.
However, responding to reports that the GDA had expressed “complete” support to the prime minister, she said that the party was free to look elsewhere if the issues it had highlighted to Khan were not addressed. Per sources, the GDA had urged the prime minister to focus on the development of the most-neglected districts of Sindh.