ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari said on Saturday that if a resolution on a no-confidence vote against Prime Minister Imran Khan is delayed, opposition lawmakers would stage a sit-in at the National Assembly, disrupting an upcoming summit of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).
The opposition, which blames Khan for mismanaging the country, economy and foreign policy, filed the no-confidence motion against him on March 8.
In accordance with the law, the National Assembly speaker has a maximum of 14 days to summon a session of the parliament to table the no-trust vote resolution. Monday is the last day.
“If the speaker of the National Assembly does not present the no-confidence motion on Monday, then I would recommend to my party, to the opposition parties that we will not get up from the hall," the PPP chairman told reporters.
"We will then see how your OIC conference takes place."
The National Assembly will be the venue of the 48th session of the OIC Council of Foreign Ministers scheduled to start on Tuesday.
As the threat of political turmoil in Pakistan is growing, with the prime minister facing in the no-trust vote the toughest challenge since he assumed office in 2018, the government earlier this week warned the opposition that it would not allow any interference into the OIC session.
The summit on March 22-23, will be the second OIC meeting Islamabad is hosting within a few months.
In December, 70 delegations from OIC member states, non-members and regional and international organizations attended the 17th Extraordinary Session of the OIC's Council of Foreign Ministers called by Saudi Arabia and hosted by Pakistan to discuss the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan.
