Islamabad: As the Opposition continues to mount pressure on the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government ahead of voting on the no-confidence motion, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday refused to resign saying that he will play till the last ball.
In his address to the nation on Thursday, Imran Khan said that he won’t resign while saying that the rebelling legislators from his party have sold their conscience.
“Somebody asked me to resign. I will resign? I have played cricket for 20 years, and I play till the last ball. I have never given up in my life,” Imran Khan said, adding, “You will see that I will emerge stronger after the vote (on no-confidence), no matter what the result of the vote is.”
He further said that the vote on the no-confidence motion against his ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government will take place on Sunday (April 3).
“I want the country to see (on the day of the no-confidence vote) that who all will sell their conscience over there,” Khan said referring to the rebel legislators from his party.
“If somebody had found a fault with me, they should have resigned then… not now when they are being offered 20-25 crore… it’s happening in front of everybody,” he further said.
Imran Khan is in a precarious position, with the no-confidence motion against him tabled in the parliament and the voting on the motion expected on April 3.
The ruling PTI coalition effectively became a minority government on Wednesday when one of the key allies Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) quit and joined ranks with the Opposition.
In a ‘power show’ rally in Islamabad on March 27, Imran Khan had brandished a letter, saying that the letter contained the ‘proof’ that he was being threatened by ‘foreign elements’ who seek to topple his government.
He talked about the foreign conspiracy angle at length in his address to the nation, saying that “a foreign nation sent a message to us (Pakistan) that Imran Khan needs to be removed else Pakistan will suffer consequences.”
Playing the victim card, he targeted the US for the crisis in Pakistan and said that the foreign policy of Pakistan is determined by the US.
He said that many Pakistanis have lost their lives in the fight against terror, but the US never thanked them. In fact, he said that the US blamed them for their failure in Afghanistan.
The Pakistani National Assembly has a total strength of 342 members, with the majority mark being 172.
The PTI led coalition was formed with the support of 179 members, with Imran Khan’s PTI having 155 members, and four major allies MQM-P, Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q), Balochistan Awami Party (BAP) and Grand Democratic Alliance (GDA) having seven, five, five and three members respectively.
Imran Khan faces imminent ouster given that three of the four allies– MQM-P, PML-Q, and BAP– have now stated their support for the Opposition’s no-confidence motion and said that they will vote accordingly.
In addition, more than 40 of the ruling PTI’s legislators disappeared on the day of the session of the National Assembly on no-confidence on March 25.
The Opposition parties in Pakistan on the other hand hold the support of 162 members of the house and are expected to be joined by the three ruling coalition parties during the vote, helping them cross the majority mark, with 179 members supporting the no-confidence motion.
The no-confidence motion was tabled in the house on March 28 with the support of 161 members of the house.
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