ISLAMABAD ( Web News )
The National Assembly Secretariat has accepted the nomination papers of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President Mian Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif and Vice Chairman Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Makhdoom Shah Mahmood Qureshi for the slot of Prime Minister.
It is pertinent to mention that election for the office of Prime Minister will be held today (Monday).
As the nation recovered from Saturday’s long and tiring National Assembly session which saw Imran Khan lose his government, politicians went about business as usual on Sunday and submitted their nomination papers for the prime minister’s election.
PTI Vice Chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi submitted four forms with the NA Secretariat, while PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif, the joint opposition’s candidate for the post, filed 13 forms.
During the submission of the nomination papers, the PTI raised objections to Shehbaz’s nomination and subsequently a heated exchange of words took place between PTI’s Qureshi and PML-N leader Ahsan Iqbal Chaudhry.
PTI leader Babar Awan said the PML-N president had cases pending against him and called for his papers to be rejected. The PTI’s objections were eventually rejected and the nomination papers for both candidates were accepted.
Earlier on Sunday, PTI’s Kanwal Shauzab and Makhdoom Zain Hussain Qureshi arrived at Parliament House to collect nomination papers on Qureshi’s behalf.
Speaking to the media, Shauzab said that the papers would be submitted after consulting with the party’s core committee.
The NA Secretariat had initially announced that 2pm would be the deadline for submitting the nomination papers for the election of the prime minister and the leader of the house while the scrutiny process would begin at 3pm.
Earlier, the secretariat had issued a statement delaying the timing but later took it back after the opposition opposed it. According to the secretariat, the PTI had requested to delay the timings.
The NA will meet today (Monday) at 2:00pm to elect the new prime minister after PTI Chairman Imran Khan was ousted from power through a no-confidence motion filed against him by the opposition.
In a historic first for Pakistan, Imran Khan was ousted as the prime minister of Pakistan from office through a no-confidence motion after the NA debated on the matter for more than 15 hours and the political situation in the country took a critical turn Saturday night.
The session was chaired by Sardar Ayaz Sadiq — a member of the panel of chairs — after speaker Asad Qasier resigned from his post.
“174 members have recorded their votes in favour of the resolution, consequently the resolution for the vote on no-confidence against Mr Imran Khan, the prime minister of Pakistan, has been passed by a majority,” Ayaz Sadiq announced after the process of voting was completed.
Once the voting was concluded and the result was announced, Opposition leaders delivered their victory speeches. Earlier, the session had been adjourned till 11am on Monday, April 11.
Speaking on the occasion, PML-N President Shahbaz Sharif said the country was witnessing a new day and thanked all the joint Opposition leaders for their efforts in uniting the parties against the government.
“We cannot thank Allah enough for allowing us to see this new day,” said Shahbaz. “We thank everyone for their sacrifices, and now, once again, a Pakistan based on Constitution and law is about to come into existence,” the PML-N president said, hoping that the alliance would move the country towards progress.
Shahbaz said this might be the first time in Pakistan that the country’s daughters and sisters were sent to prison, but maintained that he wanted to forget the past and move forward.
“When the time comes, we will speak in detail, but we want to heal the wounds of the nation; we will not send innocent people to jails, and we will not take revenge,” Shabaz said, noting that the law will take its course without interference.
“Neither I, nor Bilawal, nor will Maulana Fazlur Rehman interfere. Law will be upheld and we will respect the judiciary,” Shahbaz said, thanking Sadiq for chairing the historic session.
“Jab apna qafla azm o yakeen se niklay ga, jahan se chahen ge rasta wohi se niklay ga, watan ki mitti airian ragrne day, mujhe yaqeen hai chashman yaheen se niklayga,” Shahbaz concluded.