ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan has tasked his ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party with gathering a million people at a rally ahead of a parliamentary vote on a no confidence motion filed against him by the opposition, a senior PTI adviser said on Saturday.
Last month, the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), an alliance of opposition parties, announced it planned to topple the Khan government through a vote of no confidence in parliament. On Tuesday, opposition leaders formally submitted the request to the National Assembly Secretariat.
Following the submission, Khan has scrambled to meet senior leaders of his party, with his top aides courting disgruntled groups within. The PM has also announced a rally on Islamabad’s D-Chowk a day before the no confidence vote.
“In today’s meeting, Prime Minister Imran Khan gave the task of gathering one million people at the D-Chowk rally,’ the PM’s adviser Ali Nawaz Awan tweeted on Saturday. “The prime minister, as always, is determined to be overcome this crisis … A record number of people will gather at D-Chowk to express their unwavering confidence in their leader.”
Senator Faisal Javed Khan, a close PM aide, said Khan had called the nation to hold a “historic” rally in Islamabad.
“This is the time to decide between right and wrong,” he said. ”God willing a day before the defeat of the opposition’s vote of no confidence, the largest rally in the history of the country will be held. The whole of Pakistan has full confidence in Prime Minister Imran Khan.”
The opposition needs a simple majority of 172 to win the no confidence vote and says it requires just 11 more votes to force Khan out.
The speaker of the lower house must convene parliament within two weeks of the filing of the motion, though it could take weeks before a vote takes place.