Islamabad, March 25 (Representative) The much-anticipated session of the Pakistan National Assembly in which themuch anticipated no-confidence motion, filed by the opposition against Prime Minister Imran Khan, was adjourned without tabling of the resolution, here on Friday, Dawn reported. The session began with the recitation of the Holy Quran and prayers were said for late MNA Khayal Zaman and former president Rafiq Tarar. NA Speaker Asad Qaiser adjourned the session as per parliamentary traditions and convention owing to the death of an MNA for March 28 (Monday) till 4pm, despite Information and Broadcasting Minister Fawad Chaudhary asserting that the NA session will not be adjourned.
The opposition had also finalised its strategy for not allowing any adjournment of the session without tabling of the motion. Reports had said that if the session was adjourned the opposition would likely lodge a strong protest and were also expected to hold the power show in the house from Friday and had issued instructions to all its members to attend the meeting. Several prominent opposition members, including Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Shehbaz Sharif, PPP Chairman Bilalwal Bhutto-Zardari and PPP co-chair Asif Ali Zardari, were seen arriving at the Parliament House to participate in the crucial session.
While from the ruling PTI leaders like Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Shireen Mazari, Asad Umar and Ali Muhammad Khan are among those attending the session, as well as Grand Democratic Alliance’s Dr Fehmida Mirza. The National Assembly Secretariat had on Thursday issued a 15-point ‘Orders of the Day’ for the NA session, which included the no-confidence resolution, filed by the joint opposition on March 8. The opposition, which has 162 members, filed the con-confidence motion which was moved by 152 opposition members, saying that Prime Minister Imran Khan had lost the confidence of the house. The ruling coalition currently has the support of 179 members of the National Assembly, which is slightly more than the required 172 to beat the motion.