-NA Session summoned today
-PTI formulates strategy to secure vote of confidence
-Baluchistan CM says BAP stands firmly with PM
-MQM-P, PML-Q express full confidence in PM
By Uzma Zafar
ISLAMABAD: The 30th session of the National Assembly (NA) will convene Saturday (today) and the Prime Minster Imran Khan will seek a vote of confidence from the House.
“In exercise of powers conferred by clause (1) of Article 54 of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, the President has been pleased to summon the National Assembly to meet in the Parliament Building, Islamabad on Saturday, 6 March 2021 at 12:15 p.m. for the purpose of requiring the Prime Minister to obtain the vote of confidence from the National Assembly under Article 91(7) of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan,” the notification issued in this regard said.
The procedure for vote of confidence on Prime Minister has been clearly defined in the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in National Assembly 2007 which states to record the voting procedure set out in the Second Schedule.
The Rule 36 of the Rules of Procedure regarding the vote of confidence in the Prime Minister says ”Whenever the Prime Minister has to obtain a vote of confidence under clause (7) of Article 91, voting shall be recorded in accordance with the procedure set out in the Second Schedule. The clause (7) of Article 91 of the Constitution of Pakistan states that Prime Minister shall hold office during the pleasure of the President, but the President shall not exercise his powers under this clause unless he is satisfied that the Prime Minister does not command the confidence of the majority of the members of the National Assembly, in which case he shall summon the National Assembly and require the Prime Minister to obtain a vote of confidence from the Assembly.
Second Schedule about procedure for recording of Votes states that before voting commences, the Speaker shall direct that the bells be rung for five minutes to enable members not present in the Chamber to be present. Immediately after the bells stop ringing, all the entrances to the Lobby shall be locked and the Assembly staff posted at each entrance shall not allow any entry or exit through those entrances until the voting has concluded.
The Speaker shall then read out the resolution before the Assembly and ask the members who wish to vote in favour of the resolution to pass in single file through the entrance where tellers shall be posted to record the votes.
On reaching the desk of the tellers, each member shall, in turn, call out the division number allotted to him under the rules. The tellers shall then mark off his number on the division list simultaneously calling out the name of the member.
In order to ensure that his vote has been properly recorded, the member shall not move off until he has clearly heard the teller call out his name. After a member has recorded his vote, he shall not return to the Chamber until bells are rung under paragraph.
When the Speaker finds that all the members who wished to vote have recorded their votes, he shall announce that the voting has concluded. Thereupon the Secretary shall cause the division list to be collected, count the recorded votes and present the result of the count to the Speaker.
The Speaker shall then direct that the bells be rung for two minutes to enable the members to return to the Chamber. After the bells stop ringing, the Speaker shall announce the result to the Assembly. During in the day, reposing his trust in the leadership of Prime Minister Imran Khan, Balochistan Chief Minister Jam Kamal Khan on Friday said that his party, Balochistan Awami Party (BAP), stood firmly with the premier.
According to the details, BAP President Jam Kamal Khan along with a delegation called on Prime Minister Imran Khan and assured him of his party’s full support.
CM Jam Kamal Khan thanked the prime minister for nominating the outgoing Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani for the coveted post again. “We were allies before and will remain allies in the future,” he added. During the meeting, Sadiq Sanjrani apprised the prime minister about his meeting with former prime minister Yousaf Raza Gillani.
The BAP delegation comprised of Balochistan CM Jam Kamal, Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani, Minister for Defence Production Zubaida Jalal Khan and Khalid Magsi.
Earlier in the day, delegations of Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) and Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) had held separate meetings with Prime Minister Imran Khan.
According to the details, a delegation of MQM-P headed by Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui had met with the prime minister in Islamabad yesterday and expressed their full confidence in him. During the meeting, the MQM-P reminded the prime minister of his promises and expresses concerns over the sale of government jobs in Sindh, the murder of merit and withdrawal of security from several MQM-P’s leaders.
