No-trust vote against Imran Khan will follow Constitution rules: Speaker

Over the no-trust motion against Pakistan PM Imran Khan, National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser said that he would run the assembly's proceedings in accordance with the Constitution.

After opposition parties levelled allegations against Pakistan's National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser for siding with Prime Minister Imran Khan over the no-trust motion, Qaiser in his defence said that he would run the assembly's proceedings in accordance with the Constitution.

Taking to Twitter, Qaiser wrote: "I, as the custodian of the National Assembly of Pakistan, will fulfil my constitutional obligations and will proceed in accordance with Article 95 of the Constitution and rule 37 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the National Assembly, 2007," reported Geo TV.

In conversation with media in Islamabad, the speaker had said, "I will follow the law; I am still in consultation with the NA secretariat about summoning the session and it will be called in line with the constitution."

Pakistan Opposition leaders on Monday slammed the National Assembly speaker Asad Qaiser for "violating" the Constitution for delaying in conducting voting on no-confidence against Prime Minister Imran Khan.

Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N) President Shahbaz Sharif and Pakistan People's Party (PPP) chairperson Bilawal Bhutto Zardari slammed the National Assembly speaker for violating the constitutional provision requiring him to convene a meeting of the Lower House within 14 days after receiving a requisition for a session to table a no-trust motion against Imran Khan, Dawn newspaper reported.

Sharif claimed Speaker Qaiser had deliberately violated Article 54(3) of the Constitution using the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) meeting as an excuse, Dawn newspaper reported.

The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) chairman said the government was violating the Constitution and trying to evade the no-confidence motion.

According to the Pakistani newspaper, Bilawal advised Speaker Qaiser to follow the Constitution and consult his lawyers before taking any action that might entail his trial under Article 6 of the Constitution (for high treason).

He said the government and the speaker had practically demonstrated that they could flout the Constitution. But he hoped the apex court would not take a political stance and stand by the Constitution, law and democracy, Dawn newspaper reported.

The Opposition parties in Pakistan are jettisoning mutual hatred to oust Imran Khan as they submitted the no-trust motion in the National Assembly secretariat on March 8.While the Imran Khan government has exuded confidence to defeat the no-trust motion, the Opposition is sure that they will oust Khan.