ISLAMABAD: Leader of Opposition in Pakistan's National Assembly Shehbaz Sharif on Saturday told the speaker to conduct the session as per the order of the Supreme Court and said that the Opposition will oust the "selected" prime minister by adopting a lawful and constitutional procedure.
He made the statement minutes after Pakistan's Parliament started its crucial session to take up a no-confidence resolution against Prime Minister Imran Khan in line with a landmark Supreme Court order.
Speaker Asad Qaiser, who is chairing the session which began at 10:30am sharp, said that the house should hold a discussion about the "foreign conspiracy" hatched against the PTI government.
However, his suggestion was met with loud protesting chants from Opposition members.
Sharif, 70, called on the speaker 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 declared.
Sharif told the speaker to let bygones be bygones and to stand for the law and the Constitution.
He urged the speaker 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 urged Qaiser, adding that the apex court's directives were clear.
Speaker assured Sharif 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 Sharif to tell the speaker that he would be violating the court's directives if he would go down that road.
He also read out the court's directives regarding the convening of the session.
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 Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (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 Sharif as the new leader of the house.
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.