ISLAMABAD: The historic session of the National Assembly to decide the fate of Prime Minister Imran Khan resumed today. Shortly afterwards, Speaker Asad Qaiser adjourned the session amid shouting by the MNAs. The delayed session was resumed at 2:30pm and Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi continued his speech and he was continuing his speech till the filing of this news at 3:15pm.
The speaker had delayed the session until 12:30pm, but the break prolonged and the voting is now expected to take place after 8pm, i.e. post today’s iftaar.
According to Geo News, Foreign Minister Qureshi has been instructed by the prime minister to speak for at least three hours.
At the same time, the Opposition held a consultative meeting in the Leader of the Opposition Shahbaz Sharif’s chamber to discuss a counter-strategy for the government’s plan to prolong the session so that voting could not take place today.
Later, however, the government and the Opposition reached a consensus regarding maintaining order in the house and allowing the speeches to take place uninterrupted.
Mir said a discussion has been held between delegations of the Opposition and the government in Asad Qaiser’s chamber.
“Both sides have agreed to cooperate, and none of them will interfere during the speeches from both sides,” he said, adding that Shah Mahmood Qureshi has given a guarantee that voting will be held today after 8pm.
While from the Opposition’s side Maulana Asad Mahmood has assured the members of the treasury benches that they will not interrupt speeches delivered from the government’s side; however, he warned that if the MNAs from the treasury benches create a ruckus, the joint Opposition leaders will also react accordingly.
