Prime Minister Imran Khan has summoned a meeting of the parliamentary group today, ahead of the vote of confidence to be held in a special session of the National Assembly on Saturday.
The meeting will be held today at 3 pm, after Friday prayers, at the Prime Minister House. The meeting will also be attended by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)’s allies and their respective members of parliament.
This happens in the backdrop of shocking electoral results in the Senate elections on March 3. The opposition alliance’s candidate Yousaf Raza Gilani gained over the ruling coalition’s pick, Dr Abdul Hafeez Sheikh, for the Islamabad seat, and the opposition coalition of the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) won 51 seats in the Senate against the government alliance’s 49 seats. This prompted the Prime Minister to seek a vote of confidence in the National Assembly.
The Prime Minister sent advice to President Dr Arif Alvi to summon a special session of the National Assembly to seek a vote of confidence under Article 91 of the Constitution.
Prime Minister Imran Khan also met senior party leaders on Thursday to review the aftermath of the Senate elections, reportedly clearing his schedule to do so. The Prime Minister was briefed about the possible reasons behind Shaikh’s defeat and discussed the PDM’s anti-government moves.
Following the consultation with the party leadership, Imran Khan named the current Chairman of the Senate, Sadiq Sanjrani, as the candidate for the chairmanship again. PTI is expected to hold a meeting with its alliance members at 3:00 pm on Friday.
After Presidential approval, the Prime Minister is to seek the vote of confidence from the National Assembly on Saturday, March 4 at 12:15 pm. This is before the elections for Senate chairman and deputy chairman take place on March 12.
