Following the ouster of PTI chairman Imran Khan from the office of the prime minister, the Opposition's joint candidate Shehbaz Sharif was elected as the 23rd premier of Pakistan Monday.
Shehbaz secured 174 votes as opposed to PTI's candidate Shah Mahmood Qureshi, who received no votes after his party decided to boycott the polling process.
The poll took place under the chairmanship of MNA Ayaz Sadiq, two days after the lower house of Parliament voted in favour of removing Imran Khan from office, following a nearly 14-hour standoff between the Opposition and Khan's ruling party that started on Saturday morning.
The Monday session formally started after a brief delay with a recitation of the Holy Quran and naat, with NA Deputy Speaker Qasim Suri in the chair.
Qasim Suri defends himself
At the outset of the session, Suri said that voting has already been done on the no-trust motion [against Imran Khan] and there has been enough debate over the ruling he gave on April 3, which blocked the no-trust vote against Khan.
"Complying with the court's orders is mandatory for everyone, but I want to put the reasons and basis of my ruling before you.
"I made the decision as a patriotic Pakistani, as a guardian and speaker of the NA," he said.
"I want to tell you that the foreign cable was deliberated over during the meetings of the federal cabinet, the PCNS, NSC and it was agreed that the no-confidence motion against Khan is a foreign plot," he said.
Suri went on to say that the last cabinet meeting that was held on April 9, 2022, decided to declassify the foreign cable. He said that the cable was then received by former NA speaker Asad Qaiser, who closely read it.
Suri then flashed the "cable", saying that he also received it as the deputy speaker.
"In this cable, Pakistan has been openly threatened."
Suri reiterated that the cable was received before the motion of no-confidence was submitted against Khan.
He asked if it was Khan's fault that he talked about an independent foreign policy or spoke for the honour of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), or fought the case against Islamophobia.
The deputy speaker asked if Pakistan is not a free country.
"Was Khan punished for not accepting slavery?"
Suri then announced that he will send the declassified cable in a "sealed" envelope to the Chief Justice of Pakistan.
Suri concluded by saying that he has accepted the apex court's decision to reverse his ruling and the restoration of the Assembly as it was, and has tried to run parliamentary affairs as per NA rules and the Constitution. He then allowed former foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi to speak.
'Some will win, some will get free': Qureshi
Taking the floor, former foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said that today's constitutional process has to end today as some will be declared a winner today, while the other one will be declared “free”.
“The nation has two paths; one path is of self-respect while the other one is of slavery,” he said, appreciating Imran Khan for trusting him [Qureshi] by nominating him.
Calling PTI a “relatively” new party compared to other parties, he said it has managed to leave a strong impression on the minds of the public.
Qureshi pointed towards the treasury benches, saying that today, the nation can see that on one side are people who share the same pro-country ideology and on the other side, people are only united and are sitting with several ideologies.
The PTI vice-chairman said: “In view of PTI members, the unity among the Opposition benches is unnatural because history knows that there is no ideological unity. among them”.
Recalling several incidents, he said: “History bears witness that they have always tried to bring each other down.”
Qureshi said that they may think that some of them [Opposition members] have won while the people on the treasury benches have lost; however, the nation showed them yesterday who are they standing with.
Referring to last night’s protests staged by PTI supporters in various cities — both in Pakistan and abroad — he said that people came out on the streets on Imran Khan’s call which shows that today “some people will lose despite winning in the assembly while others will win even if they lose the race of prime ministership.”
