Pakistan’s beleaguered Prime Minister Imran Khan on Friday got a short relief as the ongoing session of the Parliament, where he was to face a no-confidence motion, was adjourned by three days by National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser, citing the death of a sitting and former members of the house. 

Friday was going to be a big day for the Imran Khan government as opposition parties were claiming to have enough numbers to pass the no-confidence motion. However, the excitement around the expected political circus was dashed when the speaker adjourned the house till 28 March—a decision he justified in the light of parliamentary convention. 

Dawn reported roughly 150 lawmakers from opposition parties and 50 from the treasury side attended the session. Calling the decision of adjourning the house “partisan”, Shehbaz Sharif, the president of opposition parties PML-N, accused the speaker of conducting the house proceedings as a ruling PTI worker. 

“NA Speaker continues to trample upon constitutional provisions. This partisan behavior does not suit the custodian of the House. Adjournment of [the] NA session is part of desperate efforts to disrupt [the] no-confidence process,” Sharif said in a tweet, adding that no amount of tactics would be able to stop what is now inevitable. 

He further warned the government that they would all “constitutional, political, and legal” means if the same would be repeated during the next sitting. 

Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, chairman of opposition PPP, said the speaker provided a “weak excuse” to avoid tabling the no-trust motion. He asserted that opposition parties were united and would not let the premier "run away", reported Dawn. 

Claiming that Khan has lost the majority, he said, "Imran can’t run forever…..The once-great Kaptaan [Captain, a reference to Imran Khan] will go down like a rat on a sinking ship." 

(SAM)