Public should be ready to reach Islamabad at any moment: Fazl

• Fazl says PM has lost majority and trust of his allies.
• "PM should complete 172 numbers against the Opposition rather than gathering one million people for the Islamabad rally," says Fazl.
• "Sheikh Rasheed's so-called support is nothing short of feeble," says PDM chief.

Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman on Sunday has asked the public to be ready as the Opposition will summon them to Islamabad at any moment as the no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Imran Khan has been submitted to the National Assembly.

Talking to journalists regarding the no-trust move, Fazl said the PM has lost the majority as well as the trust of his allies. 

“The matter is out of PM Khan’s hands now,” he claimed, adding that “he should gather 172 members against the Opposition in the National Assembly rather than gathering one million people for the Islamabad rally.”

The PDM chief said that the workers should reach Islamabad as soon as they are summoned.

Taking a jibe at Sheikh Rasheed, who had claimed a day prior that he is standing in support with PM Imran Khan "like a wall", Fazl said that the so-called support is nothing short of feeble.

He further criticised the interior minister and said that "he is someone who bites the hand that feeds him," adding that "no one can stop the Opposition from entering the federal capital".

Talking about the incumbent government, the JUI-F chief said that its days are numbered.

NA Secretariat advises speaker to summon session by March 22: sources

The National Assembly Secretariat has advised Speaker Asad Qaiser to summon a session before March 22 after declaring that the Opposition's no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Imran is filed as per the rules, sources told Geo News. 

Officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, shared that summoning a session is a constitutional requirement that cannot be disregarded.

Sources privy to the matter said that the verification of the signatures of the Opposition's MNAs on the motion and requisition for convening an assembly session has been completed.

They said that none of the signatures were found to be suspicious or against the rules, after which the secretariat forwarded the file to the NA speaker.

According to sources, the first phase was the verification of signatures on the requisition and the second was the verification of signatures on the no-trust motion.

Opposition submits no-trust motion against PM Imran Khan

The Opposition had submitted the no-confidence motion against PM Imran Khan in the NA Secretariat last Tuesday.

A total of 86 lawmakers from the Opposition parties signed the no-confidence motion, sources said.

JUI-F's Shahida Akhtar Ali, PML-N's Khawaja Saad Rafique, Marriyum Aurangzeb, Ayaz Sadiq, Rana Sanaullah, Khawaja Saad Rafique and PPP's Naveed Qamar and Shazia Marri submitted the no-trust motion and requisition for a session to the NA Secretariat.

Currently, the government has a 17-member lead over the Opposition but the latter has claimed that it has enough support to prove that PM Imran Khan no more commands the people's trust.

— Thumbnail image: AFP/File