|HT|
Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Sunday congratulated Pakistan after the no-trust motion against his government was rejected in the assembly. In an address after the no-trust motion was dismissed, which was premeditated, Imran Khan said the assembly will be dissolved and there will be an early election. In a democratic society, now we will go to the people. They will decide whom they want. Outsiders have distributed money for this conspiracy. I will appeal to all those who have taken their money to utilise them for some good purpose. I have already advised the President to dissolve the assembly. Now you will decide, not some corrupt people or outsiders. The process for a fresh election, caretaker government, whatever is there, will begin. I congratulate Pakistan and thank God that the conspiracy to topple an elected government has failed. The Pakistan premier who was set to be the third PM to face the trust vote finally managed to escape the opposition's trial after assembly deputy speaker Qasim Khan Suri dismissed the no-trust move saying it is against Article 5 of the Constitution according to which loyalty to the state is the basic duty of every citizen. Ahead of the session, the opposition parties filed a no-confidence motion against speaker Asad Qaiser and the deputy speaker chaired the session. According to the list of the votes the opposition had against Imran Khan, the prime minister was supposed to be defeated in the no-trust vote. In the past few days, Imran Khan repeatedly mentioned that he was in favour of an early election, while resignation is out of the question. On the issue of the no-trust motion, his replies remained elusive as he talked about some plans.
Oppositions feared that Imran Khan's party may attempt an attack inside the assembly to derail the motion. The opposition's no-trust against the speaker was also a surprise.
Imran Khan did not attend the assembly and was confined within his chamber, Pakistani media reports said. After holding a consultation with his close aides, Imran Khan met President Arif Alvi, according to reports. Then it was announced that Imran Khan will be addressing the nation today, and the assembly session also began. As soon as the no-trust motion was rejected, Imran Khan began his address and said he has already recommended for the dissolution of the assembly.
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