Islamabad: Today is a very important day for Prime Minister Imran Khan and his government. A decision is going to be taken in a while about whether his government will remain or not. At the same time, his government has conceded defeat even before voting. Pak Foreign Minister Mahmood Qureshi has accepted defeat. Speaking in Parliament on Saturday, he said that today I am a member of Parliament, but tomorrow I will not be there. But don’t put my country in a constitutional crisis.”
Qureshi said, “Pakistan is a sovereign state… I want to bring to the table that the NSA of America called our NSA and asked not to leave. Tell me where it happens that a sovereign country is stopped from its bilateral tour?”
The Pakistani Foreign Minister said, “The US wants to see Pakistan and India on different platforms. He said that he sees India through the eyes of China. The PTI government wants good relations with all and wants to expand its diplomatic reach including Russia, China.”
He further said, “The country will decide. Forget that I am speaking as a member of PTI. I am speaking as a Pakistani now, please don’t push this country into constitutional crisis.”
Qureshi further said, “We have never ruled out talks. Our PM has always said that if he (India) takes one step of peace, we will take two. The thinking of Hindutva which has come there (in India), the thinking of RSS which is in Delhi, does not want talks. “She wants to keep Kashmiris locked up. She wants to grind Kashmiris in the mill of oppression.”
Voting at 8 pm
The decision of whether Imran Khan will stay or not is going to be taken at eight o’clock in the night on the no-confidence motion brought by the opposition. The total number of MPs in the Pakistan Parliament is 342. In such a situation, today Imran Khan will have to get the required 172 votes to pass the floor test. But at present, Imran Khan’s government has the support of only 142 MPs, while the opposition is claiming to have 199 MPs with them. Significantly, voting will be held in the Pak Parliament tonight at 8 o’clock, which will decide the future of Imran.