Opposition should withdraw no-trust motion against PM Khan: Pakistan Minister Fawad Chaudhry
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry on Monday urged the Opposition parties to withdraw their no-trust motion against Prime Minister Imran Khan and indicated that the government will see what can be given in return to them.
Last week, around 100 lawmakers from the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) submitted a no-confidence motion before the National Assembly Secretariat, alleging the Imran Khan government was responsible for the economic crisis and the spiralling inflation in the country.
Referring to the current political situation in Pakistan, Chaudhry, a close aide of Prime Minister Khan, said that the Opposition should withdraw the no-trust motion as it had caused bitterness in the politics.
He feared that the soaring political situation could harm the country.
"If the Opposition withdraws the no-confidence motion, let's see what can be given to them in return," Chaudhry told Aaj News TV.
The information minister said that since the Opposition parties formed the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), "a lot of rancour has been created, hard statements have come forward and an environment is created. A doctrine of unintended consequences becomes operative and a lot of things happen that both parties do not want.
"So much bitterness would be created in politics by the time voting on the no-confidence motion takes place in two to three weeks that it would damage Pakistan, he was quoted as saying by the Dawn newspaper.
Chaudhry said that in his opinion, a solution should be found through which the Opposition takes back the motion while "[we] will see what can be given in return.
"When asked what the government could offer the opposition in such a scenario, Chaudhry said there were a number of matters on which negotiations could be held with the Opposition, including electoral reforms, changes to the National Accountability Bureau laws and dates and processes of the next general elections.
"Whatever the opposition's [concerns] are, discussions can be held with open hearts," he said while cautioning "serious people" in the opposition that amid the impending vote on the motion, "we will keep doing politics for 2-3 weeks and when we look back, we will see that our economy has been damaged so much that it will be a problem to make it recover.
"Ruling out the possibility of declaring an emergency in the country, the minister stated: "Emergency powers are limited after the 18th Amendment.
According to the Dawn newspaper, Opposition leaders said the ruling coalition was likely to break in a matter of days, if not hours.
Khan, 69, is heading a coalition government and he can be removed if some of the partners decide to switch sides.
In the 342-member National Assembly, the Opposition needs 272 votes to remove Prime Minister Khan.
Khan, heading his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party came to power in 2018 and the next general election is scheduled to be held in 2023.
Last week, Pakistan's powerful army distanced itself from the brewing political situation in the country in the wake of a no-trust motion by the Opposition parties, saying it has nothing to do with politics.
"It is better for all of us to avoid unnecessary speculation on this matter (army's role in current situation)," Military spokesperson Major General Babar Iftikhar told reporters.