Pakistan’s parliament is set to vote on a no-confidence motion moved by the opposition to remove Imran Khan as prime minister, days after he blocked a similar attempt.
A defiant Khan says he is in a fight to protect the country’s sovereignty and has called his supporters to the streets to defy opponents determined to unseat him.
Khan acted unconstitutionally last Sunday in blocking the no-confidence vote and dissolving parliament, the Supreme Court ruled on Thursday, ordering parliament to reconvene.
Opposition says it has the 172 votes in the 342-seat National Assembly needed to unseat Khan, after several ruling party members and a small but key coalition partner defected.
Here are the latest updates:
23 mins ago (13:40 GMT)
PM Khan cabinet to meet as delay continues
Khan has called a cabinet meeting later today as the no-confidence vote was further delayed.
The cabinet will meet at 9 pm (1600 GMT) on Saturday, people familiar with the matter said, Reuters news agency reported.
2 hours ago (12:30 GMT)
PTI files review petition against Supreme Court decision
The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) has filed a review petition against the Supreme Court order to delay a vote of no confidence.
On Thursday, the top court declared the speaker’s ruling which paved the way for the dissolution of assemblies as contrary to Pakistani law and the Constitution.
In its review petition, the PTI said that the court cannot interfere in parliament’s affairs, local media reported.
The move, according to legal experts, is aimed to delay the vote against PM Khan further.
2 hours ago (11:41 GMT)
Minister accuses Supreme Court of interference in Parliament’s affairs
Pakistan’s minister of planning, Asad Umar, has criticised the Supreme Court, saying it had no right to interfere in the affairs of the parliament.
“The Supreme Court’s decision is an interference in the supremacy of the parliament,” said Umar, who is also a close aide of Prime Minister Imran Khan.
“We respect the Supreme Court, but we are not ready to give up our [parliamentary] rights,” he added while addressing the parliament.
3 hours ago (11:16 GMT)
Committing contempt of court, Zardari tells gov’t
Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has accused the speaker of parliament, Asad Qaiser, of committing contempt of the court by delaying a vote of no confidence.
“A five-judge bench issued the order and you [the speaker] could not have taken any other agenda than voting on a no-confidence motion,” said Zardari. “Implement the court order,” he urged Parliament.
“We respect the order but the court cannot interfere in Parliament’s affairs,” member of PTI and officer Amjad Ali Khan said.
4 hours ago (10:02 GMT)
Minister proposes in-camera session on ‘foreign conspiracy’
Resuming his speech in parliament, foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi has offered the opposition an in-camera session on foreign conspiracy if they had any doubts.
“Let’s go into an in-camera session and let the ambassador of Pakistan to the USA come and tell the house,” Qureshi said, adding that there had been “blatant attempts of regime change” in Pakistan.
Imran Khan has accused the United States of conspiring with the opposition to remove him.
4 hours ago (09:36 GMT)
Parliament session to decide Khan’s fate resumes
The crucial National Assembly session to vote on a no-confidence motion moved by the opposition parties has resumed.
Speaker Asad Qaiser, a Khan ally, had said the session would resume at 12:30 pm (0730 GMT), but there were no signs of parliament reconvening for more than three hours.
(Al Jazeera)
5 hours ago (09:03 GMT)
‘Maniac’s fear of having to face the music’: Sharif
Maryam Nawaz Sharif, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader and daughter of former premier Nawaz Sharif, has accused Prime Minister Imran Khan of trying to delay the vote of no-confidence in parliament.
“A maniac’s fear of having to face the music has brought the entire country to a grinding halt and a complete standstill. The country of 22 crore (220 million) is without a government for weeks now,” she tweeted.
“This blatant violation of constitution and disregard to (Supreme Court) orders will be ugly and end badly.”
5 hours ago (08:40 GMT)
Who is Shehbaz Sharif, frontrunner for next Pakistan PM?
Shehbaz Sharif, the person most likely to be Pakistan’s next prime minister, is little known outside his home country but has a reputation domestically as an effective administrator more than as a politician.
The younger brother of three-time prime minister Nawaz Sharif, Shehbaz, 70, is leading a bid by the opposition in parliament to topple Imran Khan, and if a vote of no-confidence goes ahead on Saturday he is widely expected to replace Khan.
Shehbaz Sherif speaks to reporters outside the Supreme Court in Islamabad [File: Akhtar Soomro/Reuters]
6 hours ago (08:29 GMT)
Parliament session delayed by 90 minutes
The crucial parliamentary session to vote on the opposition’s no-confidence motion is delayed.
The speaker had adjourned the session till 12:30 pm (0730 GMT), but the proceedings have not resumed 90 minutes later.
The opposition has accused the government of delaying tactics in holding the vote.
6 hours ago (08:10 GMT)
Opposition leader asks speaker not to delay no-trust vote
Pakistan Peoples Party chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has met National Assembly Speaker Asad Qasier, asking him not to delay the voting, Geo TV has reported.
Zardari asked the speaker not to use “delaying tactics” and hold the voting at the earliest.
Pakistani analysts say the government is delaying the vote to “frustrate” the opposition.
PTI lawmaker @asmaqadeer4 is busy scrawling “Zameerfrosh Murdabad,” “Amreeka ka Jo yar ha ghaddar ha” on placards while opposition members wait patiently for the session to begin Opposition alliance plans to vote out PM Imran Khan and elect Shehbaz Sharif new leader of the house pic.twitter.com/xyhwudVvZC
Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) spokeswoman Marriyum Aurangzeb claims 176 members of the National Assembly will vote against Prime Minister Imran Khan.
In a tweet, the spokeswoman shared a break-up of legislators who she says are supporting the opposition’s no-confidence motion against Khan and are present in the house.
The embattled Prime Minister Imran Khan has not been seen in the parliament so far during the crucial session. The cricketer-turned-politician has often been criticised for not attending the proceedings of the house.
Neither Khan nor his party have issued any statement so far on whether Khan would attend the National Assembly, where a no-confidence motion against him is set to be put to vote.
The treasury benches look empty in the ongoing session, with a number of legislators from the ruling coalition deserting Khan and switching to the opposition alliance.
7 hours ago (06:33 GMT)
Deputy speaker defends blocking April 3 no-trust vote
Parliament’s deputy speaker has defended his ruling which blocked the opposition’s no-confidence motion on April 3.
“How can you overlook direct attack on the state?” Qasim Suri told Geo TV, claiming he did not violate the constitution by his move, which was overturned by the Supreme Court on Thursday.
“The entire nation felicitated me and I am proud of my ruling,” Suri said. “The entire nation is still with Imran Khan”.
The Supreme Court can order ANY state organ to compel ANYONE to comply with its orders. It can also take Suo Motu notice of any attempt by Speaker, PM or President to obstruct implementation of its orders.
Before the National Assembly session was adjourned, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi in his address referred to an alleged “foreign conspiracy” to topple the government.
Qureshi said the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party wants a probe into the diplomatic cable in which a foreign country had threatened Pakistan.
Khan has accused the US of conspiring with the opposition to remove him.
8 hours ago (06:07 GMT)
Speaker adjourns National Assembly session
The National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser has adjourned the meeting of the house until 12:30 pm (0730 GMT) amid protest by the opposition leaders.
After reading details of a court ruling ordering the no-trust vote, which Khan’s allies had blocked last Sunday, Qaiser adjourned the session. He did not give a reason for halting the session before the vote.
8 hours ago (05:54 GMT)
Shehbaz urges speaker to hold no-trust vote
The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) president Shehbaz Sharif has urged the parliament’s speaker to hold a vote on the no-confidence motion moved by the opposition.
“The Supreme Court declared steps taken by you and Prime Minister Khan as unconstitutional, so please hold a vote as per the court ruling,” he said.
“It is the moment and you must catch this moment with conviction and don’t follow a selected prime minister,” he said.
In response, Speaker Asad Qaiser said, “I have read the Supreme Court decision and will follow that in letter and spirit but we want to have a discussion on a ‘foreign conspiracy’.”
9 hours ago (05:32 GMT)
Crucial parliament session starts
The crucial meeting of the National Assembly has started, with Speaker Asad Qaiser presiding over the session.
— National Assembly of Pakistan???????? (@NAofPakistan) April 8, 2022
9 hours ago (05:07 GMT)
PTI may try to delay voting: Opposition
PML-N leader Rana Sanaullah says his party fears the government will try to delay the voting through a discussion on the alleged foreign conspiracy against Imran Khan.
“Though they (government) will try to delay, the Supreme Court ruling had make it mandatory to hold the crucial vote today,” Sanaullah told reporters.
9 hours ago (05:02 GMT)
Parliament put under tight security
Special security arrangements have been made for the crucial session of the National Assembly as security staff deny entries of those without a security pass.
Many journalists and guests of legislators who were not issued passes for Saturday’s session were denied entry into the building, local Geo TV reports.
People watch PM Imran Khan’s Friday night speech on a television screen, at a cafe in Islamabad [Akhtar Soomro/Reuters]
9 hours ago (04:58 GMT)
Opposition to meet before crucial session
Legislators and leaders of various political parties have started arriving in the parliament building for the crucial session that is scheduled to start at 10:30 am local time (0530 GMT).
Before the session, the opposition parties which have moved a no-confidence motion against Imran Khan will meet to discuss their strategy in the house.
In an impassioned televised address to the nation on the eve of a no-confidence vote in parliament, Khan urged Pakistanis – particular the country’s young who have been the backbone of his support since the former cricket star-turned-politician came to power in 2018 – to rally countrywide on Sunday night.
“All of you will have to come out on Sunday after evening prayer to protest, to peacefully protest … I again say that should never indulge in violence,” he said.
OTTAWA – Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the NDP is caving to political pressure from Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre when it comes to their stance on the consumer carbon price.
Trudeau says he believes Jagmeet Singh and the NDP care about the environment, but it’s “increasingly obvious” that they have “no idea” what to do about climate change.
On Thursday, Singh said the NDP is working on a plan that wouldn’t put the burden of fighting climate change on the backs of workers, but wouldn’t say if that plan would include a consumer carbon price.
Singh’s noncommittal position comes as the NDP tries to frame itself as a credible alternative to the Conservatives in the next federal election.
Poilievre responded to that by releasing a video, pointing out that the NDP has voted time and again in favour of the Liberals’ carbon price.
British Columbia Premier David Eby also changed his tune on Thursday, promising that a re-elected NDP government would scrap the long-standing carbon tax and shift the burden to “big polluters,” if the federal government dropped its requirements.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
Simon Jolin-Barrette, minister responsible for consumer protection, has tabled a bill to force merchants to calculate tips based on the price before tax.
That means on a restaurant bill of $100, suggested tips would be calculated based on $100, not on $114.98 after provincial and federal sales taxes are added.
The bill would also increase the rebate offered to consumers when the price of an item at the cash register is higher than the shelf price, to $15 from $10.
And it would force grocery stores offering a discounted price for several items to clearly list the unit price as well.
Businesses would also have to indicate whether taxes will be added to the price of food products.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
Quebec legislature member Youri Chassin has announced he’s leaving the Coalition Avenir Québec government to sit as an Independent.
He announced the decision shortly after writing an open letter criticizing Premier François Legault’s government for abandoning its principles of smaller government.
In the letter published in Le Journal de Montréal and Le Journal de Québec, Chassin accused the party of falling back on what he called the old formula of throwing money at problems instead of looking to do things differently.
Chassin says public services are more fragile than ever, despite rising spending that pushed the province to a record $11-billion deficit projected in the last budget.
He is the second CAQ member to leave the party in a little more than one week, after economy and energy minister Pierre Fitzgibbon announced Sept. 4 he would leave because he lost motivation to do his job.
Chassin says he has no intention of joining another party and will instead sit as an Independent until the end of his term.
He has represented the Saint-Jérôme riding since the CAQ rose to power in 2018, but has not served in cabinet.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
