Speaker to decide on convening parliamentary session on no-confidence vote after March 15 — interior minister 

ISLAMABAD: Minister for Interior Sheikh Rashid Ahmed said on Sunday the speaker of Pakistan’s lower house of parliament would decide after March 15 when to convene a session on the no-confidence vote against the prime minister.
Pakistan’s leading opposition parties announced last month they would topple the Prime Minister Imran Khan-led government by filing a vote of no-confidence against him in parliament. Last week, opposition legislators formally submitted the motion with the National Assembly.
The political temperature in the country has been on the rise since, with the prime minister looking to court disgruntled legislators from within his party and strengthen his ties with coalition partners, the Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid-e-Azam (PML-Q) and the Karachi-based Muttahida Quami Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) before the important vote gets underway.
Both the opposition and the government say they have the required numbers to win the no-confidence vote.
“God willing, after March 15, Prime Minister Imran Khan’s position will be further strengthened,” Ahmed said, speaking at a ceremony organized by the Women Business Forum in Islamabad.
“It is up to the speaker to decide when he wants to convene the session [of the National Assembly] and he will make that decision after March 15,” he said, adding that the speaker’s decision cannot be challenged by anyone.
Referring to the government’s allies, Ahmed said friends should “offer their support” in difficult times. “I am standing with Imran Khan like a rock,” he said.
The minister also spoke about women’s empowerment at the event, urging the Women Business Forum to create opportunities for women from Pakistan’s Sindh, Balochistan and other provinces where poverty was rife and opportunities were scarce.
“I want you to expand and open more bazaars. The entire city of Islamabad is an open field. Whatever you think you can improve, we are ready to provide you [with the necessary tools] for that,” he said.