• Fawad denies reports PTI plans to blockade parliament
• Opposition says members ‘safely inside Red Zone’

ISLAMABAD: On the eve of voting on a no-confidence resolution, moved against him by the opposition in the National Assem­bly, Prime Minister Imran Khan gave a call to his supporters — particularly young people — to ‘peacefully protest’ against what he called an “international conspiracy hatched by the US” to oust him from power.

The prime minister also changed his mind about his party’s strategy for the all-important sitting of parliament and announced that he would be present during the debate on the no-confidence resolution. He directed Pak­is­tan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) lawmakers to participate in Sunday’s proceedings and mount a vociferous defence of their prime minister.

The call for the protest was given by the prime minister during a live question-and-answer session with the public which was televised. The fresh directives to party MNAs came after the PM chaired a series of meetings with his confidants and legal experts.

During the broadcast, the prime minister said he had “more than one plan” for Sunday’s crucial vote and claimed that he would spring a surprise on the entire nation.

Talking to Dawn, Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry confirmed that the prime minister had withdrawn the letter previously sent to party MNAs calling on them to skip Sunday’s sitting of the lower house of the parliament and said PM Khan would lead PTI members himself on the day.

Mr Chaudhry claimed that nearly 140 party lawmakers were present at the dinner hosted by the prime minister on Saturday night, adding that the government had decided to hold a fully-fledged debate in the National Assembly and both opposition and treasury members would be provided an opportunity to speak their mind.

Ahead of Sunday’s sitting, political circles were abuzz with reports that the government had devised a strategy to physically prevent opposition members and nearly two dozen PTI dissidents — presently staying at Sindh House and the nearby Marriott Hotel — from reaching Parliament House through their protests.

Editorial: The PM has made the most of his last days in office by playing a shrewd hand

Geo News, quoting unnamed sources, reported that the ruling party planned to bring its protesters to D-Chowk and right up to the main gate of Parliament House, despite clear directives from the Supreme Court, which had banned all types of gatherings inside the high-security Red Zone.

Some channels also reported that the ruling party had decided to prolong the sitting and delay the voting as much as possible by allowing the members to deliver lengthy speeches to test the patience of the opposition.

During the course of the debate, some treasury members may try to elicit a response by delivering provocative speeches to create a situation that could prompt the opposition to lodge a protest, which in turn can lead to a situation where the speaker is forced to postpone voting.

The information minister, however, refuted all these reports, saying that the “whole process would be carried out in accordance with the Constitution.”

Through a tweet, Mr Chaudhry also expressed his surprise over what he called “a campaign by the opponent media houses” that PTI workers wanted “bloodshed” on the occasion. He said the PTI was a party of middle-class people and that “there is no room for violence”.

“The protest of a civilised nation will be civilised. The reports about violent protests are part of dozens of fake news.”

On the other hand, a senior opposition member told Dawn they had already taken “remedial measures” and would try to maintain peace and order as per the Constitution on the crucial day.

The opposition member said they had already shifted all their MNAs inside the Red Zone, “pretty close to Parliament House.”

“We want to leave no legal stone unturned. Our numbers are well over the 172 needed to remove this government,” said the opposition member, who has been assigned the task of overseeing arrangements to bring the opposition members to parliament.

He said it was unfortunate that the government had, on its last few days, decided to add more toxicity to a crisis it had created by floating news of possible blockages en route to parliament.

Published in Dawn, April 3rd, 2022