IN the wake of the defeat of a nominee of the ruling party in Senate elections from the Islamabad constituency, the PTI, among other things, has decided to seek a vote of confidence. I beg to differ with the strategy. It should have gone to the Supreme Court and point out that the Election Commission of Pakistan had failed to ensure corruption-free election as had been directed in the recent Supreme Court verdict.

Apart from using the heavy muscle of the Supreme Court against the ECP, it should have asked the opposition to bring the vote of no confidence against the prime minister, if it so desired, in the National Assembly. There is a lot of difference in getting a vote of confidence from the house and in asking others to secure the same for the vote of no confidence against someone.

In the first case, the onus of securing 172 votes will lie upon the one asking for the vote of confidence, whereas in the second case, it would have been be the problem, and a big one too, of the opposition to arrange that many votes in an open ballot.

Col (r) Riaz Jafri

Rawalpindi

Published in Dawn, March 6th, 2021