Pak Parliament's crucial session to decide fate of PM Imran Khan adjourned temporarily
Islamabad (PTI): Pakistan Parliament's crucial session to take up the no-confidence motion against defiant Prime Minister Imran Khan was on Saturday adjourned temporarily over ruckus amid indications that the no-trust vote could be delayed after the government pressed for a discussion on the so-called "foreign conspiracy" against it.
In line with a landmark Supreme Court order, the National Assembly's session began in the morning. National Assembly (NA) Speaker Asad Qaiser is chairing the session which began at 10:30 am (11:00 IST).
Taking the floor, Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Shehbaz Sharif hailed Thursday as a historic day in Pakistan's history when the Supreme Court rejected the deputy speaker's ruling and said that the apex court's decision had made the country's future "bright".
He called on Speaker Qaiser to conduct proceedings in accordance with the court's directives, stating that Parliament would be writing history today.
"Today, Parliament is going to defeat a 'selected prime minister' in a constitutional manner," he said.
Shehbaz told the Speaker to let bygones be bygones and to stand for the law and the Constitution, urging him to play his role and to have his name "written in history in golden words".
"You must cash in on this moment with conviction and with your heart and your mind. Don't go on the dictation of the selected prime minister," he said.
Responding to Shehbaz, the Speaker assured him that he would conduct proceedings according to the law and the Constitution.
"(But) the important thing is that there has been talk of an international conspiracy. This should also be discussed," he said, as the hall echoed with protests from the Opposition benches.
This prompted Shehbaz to tell Qaiser that he would be violating the court's directives if he went down that road. He also read out the apex court's directives regarding the convening of the session.
"Under the court's directives, you are bound to take up this agenda item and no other item. That is the intent of the order and you cannot deviate from it," he said, calling on the Speaker to hold voting on the motion forthwith.
"The Supreme Court's orders will be followed in true letter and spirit," Qaiser replied, giving the floor to Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi.
Qureshi said that the Opposition had the right to table a no-trust motion against the prime minister, but asserted that defending it was his obligation.
"We intend to fight it in a constitutional, political and democratic manner," the close aide of Khan, asserted.
Talking about constitutional violations, he said that it was obligatory "on us to respect the Constitution".
"As the prime minister said yesterday, he is disappointed but has accepted the court's decision," Qureshi said, referring to Khan's address to the nation on Friday night.
Speaker Qaisar adjourned the session until 12.30 PM (13:00 IST) after slight disturbance between the treasury and opposition benches. Although the speaker had delayed the session until 12:30 PM, the break was prolonged.
Sources told Geo News that the session has been deliberately delayed and the PTI ministers will try to make their speeches lengthier.
Foreign Minister Qureshi, who was speaking when the session was interrupted, will continue his address after the break, adding that the minister has been instructed by Prime Minister Khan to speak for at least three hours.
Meanwhile, a delegation of Pakistan Opposition leaders met with National Assembly Speaker Qaiser in his chamber and demanded immediate voting on the no-confidence motion that could seal the fate of Khan, following the adjournment of the session over ruckus in Parliament.
The Opposition parties need 172 members in the 342-member house to orchestrate the downfall of Prime Minister Khan. They have garnered the support of more than the needed strength with the help of some allies of the ruling coalition and rebels from the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party of the 69-year-old cricketer-turned politician.
According to the Orders of the Day' issued by the National Assembly Secretariat on Friday, voting on the no-confidence motion is at the fourth position in the six-point agenda of the National Assembly (NA), the lower house of Parliament.
The ruling PTI party led by 69-year-old Khan has vowed to make things as difficult for the Opposition as they can, be it creating hurdles in the voting procedure or preventing the election of Opposition nominee Shehbaz as the new leader of the house, the Dawn newspaper reported.
According to Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry, the government will present the threatening' cable or its contents in the assembly and will ask the Speaker for a debate on the issue.
Speaking to ARY News on Friday night, he was of the opinion that even though the vote of no-confidence was on the NA agenda, voting would likely not take place on Saturday.
Chaudhry said that while the Supreme Court had instructed voting to be held in the session called on Saturday, that does not mean it will have to be on the same date, the report said.
There are indications that the government lawmakers may also resort to filibustering to prolong the session and avoid the crucial vote.
Khan, who faces the possibility of being the first premier in the country's history to be voted out in a no-trust motion, in recent weeks has talked about a 'threat letter' and claimed that it was part of a foreign conspiracy to remove him as he was not acceptable for following an independent foreign policy.
He said that he has a great wish that people could see the document but he refused to share it due to national security. But he shares its gist in his own words. In his latest address to the nation on Friday night, Khan repeated his allegations that a US diplomat threatened regime change in Pakistan.
In a landmark 5-0 verdict on Thursday, a five-member bench of the Supreme Court headed by Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial ruled that NA deputy speaker Qasim Suri's ruling rejecting a no-confidence motion against Khan was "contrary to the Constitution .
The apex court also declared the advice by Prime Minister Khan to President Arif Alvi to dissolve the NA as unconstitutional" and ordered the speaker of the lower house to call a session on Saturday to organise the no-confidence vote.
Prime Minister Khan, in an address to the nation ahead of the no-trust motion where he has little chances of surviving unless some miracle takes place, expressed disappointment over the Supreme Court's verdict on the NA deputy speaker's controversial decision on the rejection of the no-trust motion against him.
The cricketer-turned-politician, who has effectively lost the majority in the 342-member house, seemed to accept the writing on the wall and urged his supporters to stage peaceful protests across the country when the "new imported government" comes into power on Sunday.
No Pakistani prime minister has ever completed a full five-year term in office.
Meanwhile, the Opposition has completed its initial talks for the formation of a new government once Prime Minister Khan is ousted. Plans are afoot for the removal of President Alvi and the return of deposed premier Nawaz Sharif from the UK, The Express Tribune newspaper reported on Friday.
Shehbaz, 70, who is the Opposition's candidate for the new prime minister, will announce his possible government priorities after taking the oath.
All Opposition parties will be given proportional representation in the new possible federal government.
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13 lakh litres of 'Rail Neer' supplied to train passengers daily: Government
New Delhi (PTI): Approximately 13 lakh litres of packaged drinking water -- 'Rail Neer' -- are being supplied to train passengers across the railway network daily, the government informed the Lok Sabha in a written reply on Wednesday.
Apprising the Lower House about the Indian Railways' endeavour to provide safe and potable drinking water facilities at all stations, the government also provided zone-wise details of the water vending machines (WVMs) installed there.
"To ensure the quality of drinking water being made available at the railway stations, instructions exist for periodical checking and required corrective action to be taken.
"Regular inspection and maintenance of drinking water facilities is carried out and complaints are attended to promptly," Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said while responding to a question raised by BJP MP Anup Sanjay Dhotre seeking to know the supply of drinking water at railway stations across the country
"Complaints regarding deficiency in services, including water supply, are received through various channels such as public complaints, web portals, social media, etc. These complaints are received at various levels, including the Railway Board, zonal railways, division office, etc.," Vaishnaw said.
"The complaints so received are forwarded to the concerned wings of Railways and necessary action is taken to check and address them. As receipt of such complaints and action taken thereon is a continuous and dynamic process, a centralised compendium of these is not maintained," he added.
Providing zone-wise details of water vending machines, the minister said 954 such machines have been installed across railway stations.
"The Indian Railways also provides safe and affordable packaged drinking water bottles -- Rail Neer -- approved by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) in trains and at stations," Vaishnaw said.
"Approximately, 13 lakh litres of Rail Neer are being supplied per day to the travelling passengers in trains and at stations across the Indian Railways network," he added.
