Emphasizing that the country was in dire need of political stability, Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Fawad Chaudhry on Wednesday appealed to the National Assembly (NA) Speaker Asad Qaiser to convene the assembly’s session at the earliest so that the fate of opposition’s no-trust motion could be decided and the uncertainty gripping the country could come to an end, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.

Addressing a press conference along with Federal Energy Minister Hammad Azhar in Islamabad, he also urged the opposition parties to show to the media the strength of 172 members of the National Assembly (MNAs) required for the no-confidence motion to succeed.

He said some legislators had told Prime Minister Imran Khan that both PML-N and the PPP had offered them millions of rupees in lieu of changing their loyalties and voting for the no-confidence motion.

Accusing former president and PPP Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari and former prime minister and PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif of introducing ‘horse trading’ in the country’s politics, he predicted this time, too, the opposition parties’ attempts to dislodge the PTI government would fail.  

The minister said it was Nawaz Sharif who had offered money to the legislators to overthrow Benazir Bhutto-led PPP’s government in 90s.

He alleged that for Nawaz and Zardari the sole objective of doing politics was to loot the national exchequer.

Fawad also hit out at JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman, whose politics, he said, centered round his personal interests.

Calling PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari a ‘child’, the federal minister said he should bear this in mind that nobody was ready to contest election on a PPP ticket.

He went on to say all over the world there was a practice of making foreign policies in the country’s interests. “Here it was the opposite prior to PTI coming to power,” he recalled.

He reminded the opposition that despite the fact that the ruling PTI did not have a majority in Senate, still it managed to get bills passed from it. “Today, PM Imran has had productive talks with the MQM-P,” Fawad said, adding that the situation would become clear in a day or two.

Minister for Information claimed that there were media outlets in the country which aired ‘fake news’. “PEMRA will definitely send notices to these newspapers and news channels,” he announced.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zJDq6vXvMTg

Speaking on the occasion, Energy Minister Hammad Azhar said the entire world was in the grip of political and economic crises. “But thanks to The Almighty Allah that Pakistan succeeded in coming out of the financial slump due to Covid-19,” he said, adding that despite the effects of pandemic, the country was progressing at the rate of 5.50 per cent. “So much so that now the world is looking at Pakistan as a role model,” the minister claimed. 

Meanwhile, Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Farrukh Habib has said that Prime Minister Imran Khan has waged ‘jihad’ against those who have plundered national wealth mercilessly.

In a statement, he has said three ‘corrupt’ heads of political parties, by submitting a no-trust motion against the government, have now landed in a ‘blind alley’ and faced an uncertain future.