PM says won’t resign, will face no-trust vote on Sunday to decide Pakistan’s future

A shopkeeper tunes a television screen to watch the speech of Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan, at his shop in Islamabad, Pakistan, on March 31, 2022. (REUTERS)

• In address to the nation, Khan names United States as country behind a foreign conspiracy to oust his government
• Says no matter what the result of a no-confidence vote, the nation would see him "coming back stronger than before"

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan said in a televised address to the nation on Thursday he was not going to step down ahead of a no-confidence vote in the national assembly after losing key coalition partners who recently pledged support to the opposition and asked him to resign.
The government maintains the opposition’s no-confidence motion, filed earlier this month, is part of an elaborate international scheme to topple Khan’s administration since he has been pursuing an “independent foreign policy.”
The prime minister also highlighted in his speech that he wanted his government’s diplomatic engagements to reflect the “aspirations of the people of Pakistan” while criticizing previous administrations for condoning drone strikes.
“Someone told me, ‘Imran Khan, you should resign,’” he said. “I should resign? People who used to play cricket with me [know] — and I played cricket for 20 years — that I fight till the last ball. I never accepted defeat in my entire life. Whatever the result of this vote [of no-confidence], you will see me coming back stronger than before, regardless of the result.”
Khan spoke of a diplomatic cable that mentioned a foreign official who warned a Pakistani envoy of immense international pressure if the no-confidence motion against him failed. The document was also discussed in the National Security Committee (NSC) meeting earlier today where the participants described the language used by the foreign official as “undiplomatic.”
The details of the meeting shared by the government kept the name of the country of the said official a secret, though the NSC agreed to protest "interference" in Pakistan's internal affairs through diplomatic means. However, the prime minister named the country during his address in what appeared to be a slip of tongue.
“I have appeared here [on national TV] to speak to you because on March 8 or before that, on March 7, we received a message from America — not America, another foreign country. I mean, another foreign country,” he tried to correct himself with a mild smile on his face.
The US state department has already denied it wrote any letter to the Pakistan government on recent political developments.
“On Sunday, we will vote [on no-confidence],” he said. “On Sunday, we will decide where this country goes. They [opposition leaders] are doing this drama, saying that Imran Khan has ruined this country. For the past 30 years, you have been ruling this country.”
Reacting to Khan’s speech, Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari told a local news channel the prime minister should have opted for “an honorable exit.”
“The people of Pakistan can now recognize his lies,” he said.
Earlier in the day, Pakistan’s deputy national assembly speaker Qasim Suri adjourned a parliamentary session without allowing debate on the no-confidence motion after he opened the floor for questions, but the opposition insisted instead that he call for the no-trust vote.
“I think nobody is interested in the question hour. Therefore, the house is adjourned till Sunday,” Suri said amid chants “go Imran go.”
Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, former prime minister and current lawmaker from the opposition Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz party, told Arab News after the announcement that the deputy speaker was “playing a partisan role.”
“They have time till Sunday to conduct the voting,” he added.
During Thursday’s session, the opposition alliance had on its side 175 lawmakers in the 342-member national assembly, or three votes more than the number required to topple Khan’s administration.
The joint opposition alliance said it would not allow Khan to escape the no-trust vote.
“There is no safe passage or backdoor passage for Khan now,” Bhutto-Zardari, PPP chairman, said during a press conference with other opposition leaders. “We have proved our majority in the house.”
Shehbaz Sharif, leader of the opposition in the national assembly, rejected any possibility of withdrawing the not-trust motion against the prime minister.
“The prime minister has left with no legal and moral authority to cling to his position after we have shown 175 members in the house,” he said.
The opposition alliance has nominated Sharif for the coveted premiership slot after Khan’s exit.
The speaker of the national assembly has to carry out the vote no sooner than three days and no later than seven days after the motion is tabled.
The vote must take place by April 4.