ISLAMABAD: Shehbaz Sharif, the opposition leader in the National Assembly of Pakistan, will be the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party’s nominee for the post of the prime minister, a top PML-N leader said, as PM Imran Khan's fate hangs in balance in the face of a no-trust motion filed against him.
An alliance of opposition parties filed the no-confidence motion against PM Khan on March 8, accusing him of mismanaging the economy and foreign policy, and poorly governing the country.
The Pakistani prime minister has also been facing defections by party lawmakers. The loss of dissident lawmakers has left PM Khan about a dozen seats less than the minimum - 172 - needed for a majority.
On Monday, PML-N vice-president Maryam Nawaz said the opposition would sit together and decide on the next candidate for the prime minister's post.
"Only Almighty Allah knows this. We will sit and make decisions," she told reporters outside the Islamabad High Court (IHC). "Our candidate is Shehbaz Sharif sahib."
The joint opposition commands 163 seats in the lower house, but could build a majority if most of the defectors effectively join its ranks via a no-confidence vote.
Maryam criticized the prime minister for trying to "bend" the constitution to his advantage. She was referring to Speaker Asad Qaiser's decision to summon a National Assembly session on March 25, after the expiry of the two-week constitutional period since the filing of a no-trust motion.
She said the only punishment to violate the constitution was trial under Article 6 of the constitution. "So, I am also looking towards the courts that this person (PM Khan) must be prevented from defiling the constitution for the sake of saving his government."
The article says "any person who abrogates or subverts or suspends or holds in abeyance, or attempts or conspires to abrogate or subvert or suspend or hold in abeyance, the Constitution by use of force or show of force or by any other unconstitutional means shall be guilty of high treason."
