Desperate Pak PM Imran Khan begs own party's rebel lawmakers to abstain from trust vote

In a last-ditch attempt to save his government, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Friday wrote a letter to members of the national assembly asking them to abstain from voting on the no-confidence motion against him. Apart from the letter, the Pakistan Premier is also holding a massive rally where over 10 lakh people are invited, Pakistan's Interior Minister Sheikh Rasheed Ahmad announced. Rasheed also hit out at the dissenting PTI leaders who were holed up in the Sindh House, however, he assured that unlike the events of March 11, they won't storm into the place. 

"PM is holding Rally, 10 Lakh people invited. The opposition too is holding a rally. You have deployed 480 security personnel in Sindh house, we won’t enter Sindh house. I want to assure you that we won’t enter. Two weeks from March 18 to April 4 is important for Pakistan," said Sheikh Rasheed Ahmad. 

The controversy arose after 24 MPs from his party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) reportedly rebelled against him. Speaking to the media, PTI parliamentarian Raja Riaz, who is a member of a dissident group led by Khan's former aide Jahangir Tareen, claimed that around 24 MPs of the ruling party had taken refuge in the Sindh House in Islamabad owing to "security concerns" after the police stormed the Parliament lodges on March 11. Moreover, PTI's Hindu lawmaker Ramesh Kumar announced that three Ministers in Khan's Cabinet had also deserted the party. 

24 PTI MPs to vote against Imran Khan

On March 8, Pakistan's main opposition parties filed a no-confidence motion against the Pakistan PM. As PTI has only 155 members in the 342-member National Assembly, the government's survival depends on the support of allies such as MQM-P (7 seats), BAP (5 seats), PML(Q) (5 seats), GDA (3 seats), AML (1 seat), JWP (1 seat) and 2 Independents. To topple the Imran Khan-led government, the opposition has to get at least 172 out of 342 votes, it already has a total of 162 seats. 

Earlier, coming down heavily on the turncoats, Pakistan Education Minister Shafqat Mahmood commented on Twitter, "The nation will never forgive these turncoats who have stabbed PM Imran Khan and PTI in the back. Selling their soul for 20 crores each of Zardaris looted money will forever be a curse for them. Their obnoxious faces will remain etched in people's memory".