How many MNAs were present during PM Imran Khan's vote of confidence in NA?
181 lawmakers were present during the session, including 179 from the government's side
March 08, 2021
- List issued of lawmakers present during vote of confidence session
- 181 lawmakers were present, says report
- Mohsin Dawar and Maulana Akbar Chitrali were also present
The National Assembly Secretariat on Monday issued a list of the parliamentarians present in the lower house during Prime Minister Imran Khan's March 6 vote of confidence session.
According to the list, 181 lawmakers were present during the session, including 179 lawmakers from the treasury benches. NA Speaker Asad Qaiser was included in the 179 tally as well.
The other two members of the parliament included MNA Mohsin Dawar and Jamaat-e-Islami's Maulana Akbar Chitrali.
The government had summoned the session after it faced a setback in the Senate elections where its candidate from Islamabad, Finance Minister Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh, lost to the Pakistan Democratic Movement's (PDM) joint candidate Yousuf Raza Gilani.
PM Imran Khan was successful as he received 178 votes and emerged victorious amid the Opposition parties' boycott from the session. It is pertinent to mention here that the premier had received 176 votes back in 2018 when he got elected as the prime minister, meaning that he secured two additional votes this time around.
Bilawal calls for probe
A day earlier, PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari had said a probe must take place into the "controversy" surrounding the vote of confidence held in the NA.
However, despite the Opposition's absence from the session, it claimed that there "weren't enough people present" for the 178 votes obtained.
Speaking to the media following a meeting with Leader of the Opposition in the Punjab Assembly Hamza Shahbaz, Bilawal claimed: "Imran Khan was neither voluntarily voted as the prime minister by the Members of the Assembly, nor was he voluntarily voted for in this vote of confidence."
He termed the move to seek a trust vote "a joke".
"He ran a race alone and declared himself the winner," the PPP chairman said, adding: "But even this was rigged."
