LAHORE: Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) President Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain says the upcoming no-confidence motion is the first such move wherein no one is buying or selling votes.

Mr Husain, who is a former prime minister, says it is being reported on news channels and newspapers, and even the prime minister mentioned the opening of sacks of currency notes in Sindh House [to buy loyalties of MNAs], adding: “Reports of buying and selling of votes is just a propaganda”.

The PML-Q president says in a statement that the governments always try to stop the rallies, but this was the first time that both the government and the opposition are holding rallies on the same issue.

He says the opposition is insisting on taking out rallies because of government’s obduracy.

“I once again appeal to both the government and the opposition to immediately postpone the programme of their rallies,” he said, asking who would be responsible if someone gets killed during these rallies.

Referring to a federal minister’s remark that MNAs will have to face a gathering of one million people to vote against Imran Khan, Mr Hussain says when a voter decides to cast his vote, the size of the gathering becomes meaningless.

Published in Dawn, March 19th, 2022