ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s information minister Chaudhry Fawad Hussain asked the opposition on Monday to withdraw the no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Imran Khan, saying it had resulted in bitterness in the country’s politics while hinting at the possibility of offering some deal to the opposition.

Last week, the country’s leading opposition factions submitted a no-trust motion in the National Assembly Secretariat against Prime Minister Imran Khan which intensified political volatility in Pakistan.

According to the local media, Hussain described a planned public rally of the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party in front of the parliament building a day ahead of the no-confidence session as “mini-referendum” while talking to journalists.

He added the intended gathering “of a million people” would be a message to the opposition that the government continued to enjoy massive public support.

“If the opposition withdraws the no-trust motion, we will see what can be given to them in return,” The News quoted him as saying.

The no-confidence move has also generated ripples beyond Pakistan’s frontiers, making a Chinese diplomat meet with one of the government’s coalition partners to discuss the political situation and say that China wants political and economic stability in Pakistan.

The deputy head of mission at the Chinese Embassy, Pang Chunxue, held a meeting with the Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) leadership on Sunday for a wide-ranging discussion on the country’s political landscape and the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

As the government and the opposition prepare for the no-confidence session, the Express Tribune noted “the whole focus has shifted to no-trust motion and everything else has taken a back seat, including the weekly federal cabinet meetings where key decisions were taken almost every week.”

The no-confidence motion was filed right ahead of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation’s meeting of foreign ministers later this month, making the country’s domestic politics cast its long shadow on its foreign affairs as well.

Chinese officials have also raised concerns about the pace of the multibillion-dollar CPEC projects in the past.

The PML-Q leaders discussed the China-Pakistan bilateral relations in detail with the Chinese diplomat and said their country had always attributed great significance to its friendly relations with Beijing.