Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi and Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed came down hard on joint opposition for threatening to block the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) conference, scheduled to commence in Islamabad from March 22.
Qureshi also hoped that Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari won't become a tool to fulfill the Indian agenda of sabotaging the crucial meeting.
Earlier today, Bilawal, PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif and JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman had threatened to block the moot if the no-trust vote against Prime Minister Imran Khan was delayed by the National Assembly speaker.
Talking to a private television channel soon after the hard-hitting presser, Qureshi said it appeared Bilawal had issued his statement out of ‘naivety and worry’ and should review his statement
He further said that Fazlur Rehman had earlier announced postponing the PDM long march in view of the moot, while on the other hand, they [PPP] are preparing to organise a sit-in.
Qureshi went on to advise the "seniors" of Bilawal's party to let him know that this was not a matter of the government but of the state and national integrity.
According to him, opposition shouldn't be worried about the success of the no-trust move if they have the required numbers. He added if that was the case, opposition leaders should have looked confident and not the other way around.
The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) minister said, "If they [opposition] have the required numbers, then we should be the ones looking worried, but instead they looked worried."
The veteran politician made it clear that the government wanted to face the no-confidence motion in a political and democratic manner.
"We don't want a collision at any costs and will not restrain any lawmaker [from exercising their right to vote for the no-trust move]. Every lawmaker has the right to exercise this right as per their conscious."
He added, "We will try to talk to any disgruntled members of the party but we won't force anything on them because we don't want to create a scene."
Qureshi noted that the no-trust move was being presented now while the OIC moot had already been scheduled.
He also said that now when the foreign ministers and other guests have started arriving in the federal capital to attend the moot, the opposition was hurling threats.
‘You dare not obstruct it’
Meanwhile, Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid dared the opposition to try and block the international-level conference.
Talking to a private TV channel, the minister termed the conference a matter of national security. “Those due to attend the conference are our guests and Pakistan Army has taken up the task of providing security to them,” he maintained.
He further stated that the government will ‘take care’ of the opposition with ease and no one can dare create an obstacle in the way of the meeting.
Rashid further said the opposition was losing the game and stood exposed before the masses.
PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif and PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari on Saturday threatened to block Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) conference, scheduled to take place on March 22-23 in Islamabad, if no-trust vote against Prime Minister Imran Khan is delayed by the National Assembly speaker.
"We want Monday's session to start with no-confidence motion but if it is not summoned by Monday then we will stage a sit-in the house... we will then see how you will be able to organise the OIC conference," Bilawal said at a joint press conference, held following a meeting of the opposition leaders at Shehbaz's residence in Islamabad.He urged to NA Speaker Asad Qaiser not to become a "worker of PTI", asking him to think about the country and OIC conference first. "If the speaker doesn't change his undemocratic behaviour, I will convince the entire opposition... we want the OIC moot to go smoothly but it appears that the government doesn't want that to happen," he added.
Bilawal said that the government doesn't want the opposition to remain peaceful as it first attacked Parliament Lodges and then attacked Sindh House in the federal capital.
"Imran Khan, after seeing his defeat, has started taking these undemocratic measures... I want to congratulate the masses as Imran Khan has lost the majority and his regime is over," he added.
Speaking on the occasion, Shehbaz said the attack on Sindh House was in fact an attack on Pakistan. "All this is happening on the direction of Imran Niazi... the one who is confident of winning never fights... Imran Khan is ready to cross all limits to save his government," he added
The PML-N leader said that the opposition will only use constitutional means to make their no-trust motion successful, adding that the PTI allies have also turned their backs on the government.
"They (government allies) are saying that there is no horse-trading taking place and because of PTI government’s incompetence, dissident lawmakers are finding it difficult to face people in their constituencies," he added.
The leader of opposition in NA further said the speaker will not be mentioned positively in the history books and he will not be able to refer to people in his own constituency if he continues to attend PTI meetings and favouring the ruling party.
JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman, who is also the president of Pakistan Democratic Alliance (PDM), said that PM Imran was using ‘vulgar language’ during his public gathering
"When the members were being transported via a plane [to support the government] then the act was called the voice of conscience but now when the same members are voting against the government, they are being called mules," he added.
Fazl said that not even a filthy person can use the vulgar language being used in political gatherings these days. "Our destination is near... we will take this illegitimate and incompetent government to its end," he further said.
The news conference was held a day after the ruling PTI lawmakers and workers stormed the Sindh House in Islamabad in protest against the dissident members of the ruling party, who were staying inside the building.
PTI National Assembly members (MNAs), Faheem Khan and Ataullah Niazi, along with a group of charged party workers entered the Sindh House, knocking down a gate and shouting slogans and holding Lotas (spouted globulars) in their hands to symbolise turncoat
The Sindh House came into focus this week, especially after Premier Imran and some of his ministers accused the opposition of indulging in horse-trading ahead of the crucial vote on the no-confidence motion. They said that the Sindh House had become a centre for buying lawmakers.
The disgruntled PTI lawmakers, however, denied the allegation, when they appeared in footages aired by various TV channels on Friday. They said that they were staying in the Sindh House because of security concerns.
The top leadership of PPP termed the attack “an act of terrorism”, with its chief Bilawal saying: “A well-planned attack on Sindh House is tantamount to an attack on Sindh.”
The PPP chairman questioned how the protesters crossed dozens of police checkpoints and reached the Sindh House in the capital’s Red Zone. “The Sindh House is Sindh’s identity in the federation. Imran Khan showed his real hatred by invading Sindh,” Bilawal said.