NA speaker adjourns session without proceeding on no-confidence motion

ISLAMABAD: The National Assembly (NA) Speaker Asad Qaiser has adjourned the session till March 28 without any proceeding on the no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Imran Khan.

The NA Speaker Asad Qaiser adjourned the session till March 28 (Monday) after conducting Fateha Khwani of late parliamentarians including a Member of the National Assembly (MNA) Khail Zaman, Senator Rehman Malik, former president Rafiq Tarar and others.

Qaiser said that it is a tradition to adjourn the NA session after the demise of a parliamentarian. He added that he will continue proceedings on the no-confidence motion against PM Imran Khan in accordance with the regulations.

After the Fateha Khawani for the late parliamentarians, the Opposition Leader in the National Assembly Shehbaz Sharif sought permission from the speaker for addressing the session. However, Qaiser has immediately adjourned the session till Monday, 4:00 pm.

The National Assembly began today with 15-point agenda including the no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Imran Khan as the treasury and opposition benches prepared strategies ahead of the voting.

Strict security arrangements have been made for the NA extraordinary session to be chaired by Speaker Asad Qaiser.

It was expected earlier that the NA session will be deferred by the speaker after a condolence reference of a late Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Member of the National Assembly (MNA) as per tradition. On the other hand, the opposition decided not to let the government defer the session.

After getting the permission, 152 lawmakers will table a no-confidence motion against the premier. In accordance with the regulations, the NA speaker will be bound to conduct the voting on the no-trust move within seven days.

Yesterday, the National Assembly Secretariat had issued important instructions for the MNAs, barring them from bringing security guards and personal staff to the parliament house and asked them to park their vehicles in the specially allotted parking zone from where they will be transported through a shuttle service.

Guests will be banned in the Parliament House building during the NA session, whereas, the Secretariat issued directives for special security arrangements.

Heavy deployments of law enforcement agencies will be made on the routes to the Parliament House and the entry of unauthorised persons in the Red Zone has been banned.

No-confidence motion

The lawmakers of the opposition parties had submitted a no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Imran Khan to the National Assembly (NA) Secretariat on March 8 which needs the support of a minimum of 172 legislators for its success.

The no-confidence motion against the prime minister had been submitted after being signed by 86 lawmakers from the opposition parties, whereas, the opposition benches also submitted a requisition for summoning a session of the National Assembly (NA).

The no-confidence motion and requisition for the NA session had been received by the additional secretary Muhammad Mushtaq at the NA Secretariat. Those who had submitted the no-confidence motion yesterday included Khawaja Saad Rafique, Ayaz Sadiq, Shazia Marri, Naveed Qamar, Rana Sanaullah, Aliya Kamran and Shahida Akhtar Ali.