Presentation

PAK STUDIES
• PRESENTERS

• SOHAIB REHMAT 004

• M FAISAL 132
• M ABUBAKAR
Current Political
Scenario Of Pakistan
No Confidence Movement
No-confidence motion in Pakistan
parliament in a bid to remove Khan
Alliance of opposition politicians, the Pakistan Democratic
Movement, launches the motion against PM Imran Khan in
parliament.
Pakistani opposition legislators have launched a no-confidence
motion against Prime Minister Imran Khan in parliament, hoping to remove
Khan’s government amid accusations he has mismanaged the nation’s
economy.
The house will begin a debate on the motion on Thursday and a vote is to be
held within seven days.

Shahbaz Sharif, the opposition leader in the National Assembly or lower

house of the parliament, proposed the no-confidence motion against Khan
on Monday.
“The prime minister ceases to hold his office after he has lost the confidence
of this house,” Sharif said, reading from the no-confidence motion telecast
live on television.
Opposition leaders submitted the no-confidence motion against
Prime Minister Imran Khan in the National Assembly
Secretariat in Islamabad, on March 8, 2022
•Opposition claims to have the support of 202 NA lawmakers.
•Shahbaz Sharif says the no-trust move is for "Pakistan's
betterment".
•86 Opposition lawmakers parties sign no-confidence motion.

A total of 86 lawmakers from the Opposition parties have signed the no-
confidence motion, sources said. JUI-F's Shahida Akhtar Ali, PML-N's
Khawaja Saad Rafique, Mariyam 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.
 Screengrab of the resolution.

Meanwhile, the three bigwig Opposition leaders — PPP Co-chairman Asif Ali
Zardari, PML-N's Shahbaz, and JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman — will
address a press conference later today, sources said.
In a major development, former senior minister Punjab Aleem Khan
joined Jahangir Khan Tareen's PTI faction a day earlier as he had
reservations with the prime minister, but did not specify whom will the
group support once the no-confidence motion is moved.
 Current numbers
Government:
•PTI — 155
•MQM-P — 7
•PML-Q — 5
•BAP — 5
•GDA — 3
•Independent — 2
•AML — 1
•JWP — 1

Total: 179
Opposition

•PML-N — 84
•PPP — 56
•MMA — 15
•BNP-M — 4
•Independent — 2
•ANP — 1

Total: 162
 The opposition claims to have the
numbers

The Opposition is confident of having the numbers to remove PM Imran Khan, sources
said, adding that they are claiming of having the support of 202 National Assembly
members.
The Opposition has claimed that they have the backing of 28 PTI lawmakers and others
from an ally of the government, sources said.
At least 16 PTI lawmakers have the support of PML-N, four with PPP, and two with
JUI-F, sources said.
Meanwhile, six more members from the PTI are in contact with the PML-N, sources
said.
 PM Imran Khan meets AGP

• Prime Minister Imran Khan summoned the

Attorney General of Pakistan (AGP) at the
Prime Minister's House to discuss legal
aspects as the Opposition tabled the no-trust
move against him. According to sources, the
AGP briefed the premier regarding the legal
implications of the move.
 PTI vows to defeat a no-trust
motion

In a consultative meeting after the submission of the no-trust motion,

the ruling party vowed to foil the Opposition’s bid to de-seat PM
Imran Khan.
The huddle, attended by the PM and federal ministers, including Asad
Umar and Shafqat Mehmood, was informed that all the party
members and allies are united under Imran Khan’s leadership.
It was decided that the prime minister will visit MQM-P’s
office in Karachi.
“Opposition will be defeated and we are not scared of a no-
trust motion,” PM Imran Khan told the participants.
He said that the government is focused on performance.
 Jahangir Tareen group also
holds meeting

A key player in the Punjab riddle, the Jahangir Khan Tareen group, also held its
meeting today with their leader chairing the session through a video link from
London.
Tareen is in the UK for medical treatment for the last couple of weeks but
holding regulation meetings with his loyal parliamentarians after both the
government and the Opposition sought their support for a no-trust move.
Speaking to the media after the group’s meeting, convened to discuss the no-
confidence motion tabled in the National Assembly, Punjab MPA Nauman
Langrial said they will only be held on the minus - Buzdar formula.
Answering a question about their nominee for the new Punjab chief
minister, after the removal of Usman Buzdar, Langrial said Tareen will
decide the matter.
Langarial said that the faction has given the authority for all the decisions
to Jahangir Tareen. "We have also told Aleem Khan that he will have to
abide by the decisions of Tareen. There will be no disagreement on his
decision.”
He said that the faction has been contacted by various parties.
“Every member of the Tareen group agrees that talks can only proceed if
the minus-Buzdar formula is adopted.
The MPA said that the group has come up with a mandate, and is thinking
well for the nation and PTI.
He further said that Tareen will decide whether Aleem Khan will be the
chief minister or not.
 'Army stands with me'

Speaking to a select group of YouTubers today, the prime minister

said he was confident that the government was not going anywhere
and that this was the Opposition's last move.
"After this, nothing will happen against this government till 2028
[...] Opposition will face a humiliating defeat," the prime minister
said.
The prime minister said he knows Jahangir Tareen — who has had
sour ties with the PTI — and he would never support "thieves".
"My lawmakers are being offered Rs180 million [for supporting no-
confidence motion]. I told them to take the money and distribute it
among the poor."
PM Imran Khan said CM Buzdar was an easy target, and that's why
he was being targeted.
Endorsing the PTI leaders' narrative of international conspiracy
behind Imran Khan's removal, the premier said people who do not
want an independent foreign policy would support the no-
confidence motion. 
The Opposition's heightened activities are backed by money, he claimed.
"The army stands with me, it will never support thieves [...] and since the
people are not backing the Opposition anymore, they are claiming that the
establishment is supporting them," he said.
"A mind game is going on right now, and I am a master at it," he said.
While addressing a ceremony in Rawalpindi's Fatima Jinnah University
earlier today, PM Imran Khan said he was ready for everything the
Opposition throws at him.

"The powerful desires NRO and threaten to topple the government if they
don't get it but I will not give them that as long as I am alive," PM Imran
Khan said.
“Once again, I make it loud and clear that I will not extend the gang of
thieves and dacoits any relief in the shape of NRO (national reconciliation
ordinance),” he said.
PML-N lawmakers told to stay in
Islamabad
• Separately, a PML-N parliamentary party meeting was
held earlier today where the party president, Shahbaz
Sharif, announced the plan for submitting the no-
confidence motion.
• During the meeting, PML-N lawmakers were asked to
remain in Islamabad for at least 20 days. The party
members were warned that their absence during the
tabling of the no-confidence motion would not be
tolerated.
 '100% sure' of success

• Speaking to journalists after a meeting of the

Opposition leaders at Zardari Hosue a day earlier,
PML-N's Rana Sanaullah said he was "100%" sure that
the no-confidence motion against the government
would be successful.
• "We will soon be relieved of this curse; the leaders will
announce the decisions that were made today’’.
Pakistan: Key players behind PM Imran Khan’s removal

Shahbaz Sharif left, and Maulana Fazlur Rehman

during a joint news conference in Islamabad
Imran Khan has become the first Pakistani
prime minister to be removed from
office after losing a no-confidence vote in
parliament.
The drama caps weeks of machinations by the
opposition aimed at unraveling the tenuous
coalition Khan built around his Pakistan
Tehreek-e -Insaf (PTI) party to become
premier in 2018.
 Shahbaz Sharif

The brother of three-time prime minister Nawaz Sharif – who has been disqualified from
ever again running for office and is currently in exile in Britain – Shahbaz is the main
candidate to replace Khan.
The 70-year-old is a political heavyweight in his own right, however, having served as chief
minister of Punjab, the family’s power base, and now as president of the Pakistan Muslim
League-Nawaz (PML-N).
A tough administrator with a reputation for passionate outbursts, he is known for quoting
revolutionary poetry in speeches and is considered a workaholic.
He remains popular despite lurid tabloid headlines about multiple marriages and a
property portfolio that includes luxury apartments in London and Dubai.
 Asif Ali Zardari

Hailing from a wealthy Sindh family, Zardari was better known for his playboy lifestyle until an
arranged marriage saw him wed Benazir Bhutto shortly before she became prime minister for the
first time. He took to politics with gusto, earning himself the nickname “Mr. Ten Percent” for the
cut he allegedly took from government contracts, and was twice jailed on charges related to
corruption, drug smuggling, and murder – although never faced trial. The 67-year-old became
co-chairman of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) after the assassination of Bhutto in 2007, and
became president of the country a year later in a power-sharing deal with the PML-N.
 Bilawal Bhutto Zardari

The son of Benazir Bhutto and Asif Zardari is political royalty and became
chairman of the PPP aged just 19 following his mother’s assassination.
The Oxford-educated 33-year-old is considered a progressive, in his mother’s
image, and has frequently spoken out on the rights of women and minorities.
With more than half of Pakistan’s population aged 22 or below, Bhutto’s
social media savvy is a hit with the young, although he is frequently mocked
for his poor command of Urdu, the national language.
 Maulana Fazlur Rehman

After starting political life as a firebrand hardliner, the Muslim leader has softened his public
image over the years with a flexibility that has seen him forge alliances with secular parties on
the left and right of the spectrum.
With the ability to mobilize tens of thousands of Islamic school students, his Jamiat Ulema-e-
Islam (F) party never musters enough support for power on its own but is usually a key player
in any government.
His enmity with Khan runs deep, calling him “a Jew” in reference to his former marriage to
Briton Jemima Goldsmith.
Khan, in return, calls him “Mullah Diesel” for his alleged participation in graft involving fuel
licenses.
Shahbaz Sharif – the new PM of
Pakistan

Mian Mohammad Shahbaz Sharif was elected as the 23rd

prime minister of Pakistan on Monday, receiving 174 votes
in the 342-strong National Assembly after the Pakistan
Tehreek-i-Insaf, which is the largest party in the lower
house with 155 seats, boycotted the session and also
decided to resign from the assembly.
•Shahbaz is considered a strong and determined individual as well as a competent administrator.
He attained visible success in developmental work in Punjab, with the Metro Bus projects in
Punjab frequently touted as one of his biggest achievements.
•A three-time chief minister and an influential businessman who owns part of the Ittefaq Group of
Companies, he takes pride in the construction and development work that he has done in various
administrations and is also very proud of Lahore's development.
•Despite his brother’s troubles in the recent and distant past, which also led to the elder Sharif
having to go into exile, Shahbaz has remained loyal to Nawaz. “I believe Nawaz Sharif is the only
Pakistani politician and leader that can be called Jinnah's political heir. We are lucky to have been
blessed with a Quaid [leader] like Nawaz Sharif,” he told a convention of the PML-N’s General
Council, shortly after he was elected as the party’s president unopposed in March 2018.
•Despite his loyalty to Nawaz whose troubles have been credited to a hostile establishment’,
Shahbaz appears soft when it comes to civil-military relations compared to the more hardline
stance taken by his brother. "The civilian and military authorities must work together to counter
the challenges facing Pakistan,” he told journalists in 2018.
The US rejects any involvement in the
no-confidence movement

The US government strongly denied any role in the no-trust motion against Prime
Minister Imran Khan, calling the allegations of US involvement false.
The US government responded forcefully after Prime Minister Imran Khan displayed
a letter during a power show at D-chowk, claiming that it contained evidence of a
foreign plan against him and that the Opposition’s no-trust motion is also part of this
foreign plot to destabilize his government.
 A diplomat’s take on the ‘threat letter’

According to Abdul Basit, a former high commissioner to India, such threats to

diplomats are unheard of.
“Incidents, when state authorities tell ambassadors that they would terminate ties
if a country’s government is not sent packing, have never been heard before,” he
said.
Basit, the former Pakistani ambassador to Germany, stated on Geo News’ ‘Aaj
Shahzaib Khanzada Ke Saath’ that “important subjects of foreign policies should
not be discussed in public.”
He stated that the memo referred to by the prime minister most likely contains
the minutes of a meeting between US officials and a Pakistani diplomat and that
the document may also include the diplomat’s judgment of the future.
 Shahbaz Sharif: A Prime Minister
with unparalleled challenges

PM Shahbaz Sharif’s immense political

challenges

PMLN: Impressive Cabinet but difficult

partners?

Shahbaz Sharif’s nightmare of running a

10-party government?

Challenge of forming a government in

Punjab?

Challenges of IMF and creditors in the

Middle East?

Shahbaz Govt: Waiting for a miracle!

 Pakistan economy enslaved by IMF,
says PM Shahbaz
Pakistan's political crisis, depleting foreign reserves, delay in the IMF's loan
disbursement, and rupee devaluation have had a hard-hitting impact on the economy,
and the country is seeking financial assistance on an emergency basis

The prime minister said that the coalition government would take decisions that would steer the
country out of every crisis — as they face uphill tasks on several fronts.
Pakistan reached a staff-level agreement with the IMF last month followed by months of deeply
unpopular belt-tightening by the government, which took power in April and has effectively
eliminated fuel and power subsidies and introduced new measures to broaden the tax base.
The new government has slashed a raft of subsidies to meet the demands of global financial
institutions but risks the wrath of an electorate already struggling under the weight of double-
digit inflation.
Following the staff-level agreement and the tough decisions, IMF's Resident Representative for
Pakistan Esther Perez Ruiz said earlier this week that the country has completed the last
precondition — increasing the PDL (petroleum development levy) — for the combined seventh
and eighth reviews.
 TO Overcome Economics condition
Govt increases petroleum levy by Rs14.84 to Rs47.26

The rise in the petroleum levy on Mogas was enforced in response to the IMF’s concerns after the
finance ministry lowered the levy on petrol by Rs5 to Rs32.42 per liter on October 1, 2022, from
Rs37.42.
•According to Geo, Pakistan has to raise Rs850 billion in income during the current fiscal year by
increasing the Petroleum Levy to Rs50 per liter on petrol and diesel.
FLOOD Damage Economic Badly

 The assessment estimates total damages to exceed USD

14.9 billion, and total economic losses to reach about
USD 15.2 billion. Estimated needs for rehabilitation and
reconstruction in a resilient way are at least USD 16.3
billion.
 THE NEXT ELECTION

• A major question contributing to the political uncertainty in Pakistan is the

timing of the next election, which must be held by the summer of 2023.
Khan has made clear that he wants to ride his present momentum to
immediate elections. In the days preceding his downfall, he aimed to deprive
the then-opposition of a runway in government by extra-constitutionally
dissolving parliament, a decision Pakistan’s Supreme Court (correctly)
reversed. The new government, for its part, can use its time in power to turn
things in its favor, including resolving outstanding corruption cases.