BIG DECISION: NA session summoned on Saturday for PM Imran's vote of confidence

ISLAMABAD, MAR 4: A session of the National Assembly has been summoned for Saturday when Prime Minister Imran Khan will seek a vote of confidence from the parliament, members of the government confirmed on Thursday.

Minister for Science and Technology Chaudhry Fawad Hussain shared the news on Twitter and said that the session will commence at 12:15pm on Saturday.

"Sadiq Sanjrani will be the PTI-backed candidate for the post of the Senate chairman," he added.

Adviser to the Prime Minister on Parliamentary Affairs Dr Babar Awan, while talking to Dawn.com, said that the premier will also address the nation at 7:30pm today. According to Radio Pakistan, the premier is expected to brief the nation about the "prevailing political situation in the country".

'Where they stand'

Addressing a press conference on Wednesday night, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi had announced that the premier would seek a vote of confidence from the parliament after the ruling PTI lost the hotly contested Senate general seat from Islamabad to the joint opposition.

The joint opposition candidate Yousuf Raza Gilani won the general seat, beating PTI's Abdul Hafeez Shaikh. Gilani secured 169 votes while Shaikh bagged 164 votes.

“Those standing with Imran Khan will be seen on one side and those who are not, and think they like the ideology of the PPP and PML-N have every right to join their ranks,” Qureshi had said.

He had urged PTI workers to hold onto the belief that the PTI would compete with the opposition alliance Pakistan Democratic Movement. “In this fight, the nation is watching who stands where,” the foreign minister had said. He also assured PTI's voters that the "struggle" would continue.

"In my opinion, today is a sad day for democracy. Those who claimed to be the torchbearers of democracy have killed the principles of democracy,” he added.

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