The Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) has officially announced it will support the opposition in the no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Imran Khan.
The alliance effectively cost the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) its majority in the National Assembly. If the current formation remain the same until the no-confidence vote is held, it appears Imran Khan’s government will be toppled.
At a press conference on Wednesday afternoon, MQM-P convener Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui maintained that the party had not acted in self interest, but for the greater good of the country.
“We have prioritised Pakistan’s interests over all individual interests,” he said, adding that the MQM’s agreement with the opposition is for “the common public of Pakistan and especially for those areas whom we have been representing for the last 35 years.”
Following the MQM’s announcement, Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari eagerly remarked “Imran Khan has now lost his majority. He is not the prime minister anymore. The parliament session is tomorrow. Let’s hold voting tomorrow and settle this matter.”
Also present at the conference were Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N) PML-N President Shahbaz Sharif, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman, and Balochistan National Party (BNP-M) chief Akhtar Mengal, among others.
Following the announcement, the Minister for Law and Justice Farogh Naseem and Minister for Information Technology Syed Aminul Haque, both members of the MQM-P, tendered their resignations, citing the PTI government’s ‘slow-going nature’ and remarking that Imran Khan was a ‘victim of his ego.’
The MQM reportedly held a late night meeting at the Parliament Lodges with the opposition the evening prior, during which the two parties had reached upon common ground. Previously, the PTI had counted on MQM as a strong ally.
