Pakistan PM Imran Khan Wins Trust Vote in National Assembly

The move comes after a defeat of Imran Khan’s party in the Islamabad Senate seat election.

Imran Khan, Pakistan Prime Minister

(Photo: BloombergQuint)

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has won the trust vote in Parliament. Imran Khan won the no-confidence motion by 178 votes.

The vote of confidence held on Saturday, 6 March was a first by any prime minister of the country after the passage of the 18th Amendment, wrote Pakistani daily Dawn.

According to the report, prior to the passage of the 18th Amendment, the law required every prime minister to take a vote of confidence from the Assembly within 30 days of being elected – a vote that Benazir Bhutto, Nawaz Sharif, and other prime ministers of the past had to seek after their election.

Calling the move “bizarre”, the report further stated that post 2010, the law does not require such a practice.

According to Clause 7 of Article 91 of the Constitution of Pakistan, the president “shall not exercise his powers under this clause unless he is satisfied that the prime minister does not command the confidence of the majority” in the Assembly.

The report further states, that the entire exercise by Khan might have been a result of his party’s defeat in the Islamabad Senate seat election.

“Instead of focusing his energy on a show of bravado, Imran Khan ought to reflect on the future of legislative business. The way to prove his strength in the Parliament is by getting bills passed – something that has proved to be a challenge time and again,” the report said.