Two Pak Ministers 'locked up in container for 4 hours' to secure confidence vote for PM: Maryam

Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) (PML-N) Vice President Maryam Nawaz alleged that the government took the help of secret agencies to secure the vote of confidence for Imran Khan and that two Members of the National Assembly (MNAs) who resisted were "locked up in a container for four hours" to pressurize them to vote in favour of the prime minister.

Addressing a press conference after a meeting to discuss plans related to the anti-government long march, Maryam said that government lawmakers were "in touch" with her party and alleged that the agencies had "made people disappear" on behalf of the prime minister ahead of Saturday's trust vote, Dawn reported.

Khan decided to take a vote of confidence after finance minister Abdul Hafeez Shaikh faced a drubbing in the Senate election, reinforcing the Opposition to demand the Prime Minister's resignation.

The vote that was taken by the prime minister "has no legal, Constitutional, political or moral value", the PML-N leader said.

"It has come to our personal knowledge that two MNAs who were not ready to vote for [the prime minister] until the last moment were taken to the compound of an institution in Golra (near Islamabad), kept locked up in a container there for four hours and were forced by personnel of agencies to vote in favour of Imran Khan," she said.

She also slammed the government for using Pakistan's secret agencies for their benefit.

"The way you used Pakistan's secret agencies for your benefit is very shameful. Is this all agencies in Pakistan are left for? Will their role from now on be to throw their institution into politics in order to protect a man who is being rejected by the people?" she said.

She pointed that Prime Minister Imran knew he would be "lose badly" if the agencies allegedly hadn't helped him, Dawn reported.

The Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), an alliance of 11 opposition parties in Pakistan, has announced a long march in Islamabad on March 26.

Pakistan's opposition has rejected Imran Khan's vote of confidence and dared him to take trust vote directly from the nation, reported The News International.

Speaking to media in Sukkur just after the National Assembly (NA) session concluded, PDM and JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman said the Constitution clearly stated that the president can summon a session "if he believes that the prime minister does not hold majority", Dawn reported.

"Here, the session was called over a summary by the fake prime minister. Summary is not involved in summoning such sessions, all of this is a drama," said the JUI-F chief, who is not part of the NA. "We don't accept today's Assembly session, nor do we accept the confidence vote."

On Saturday, Imran Khan won a trust vote in the NA with his party securing votes above a majority mark in the 342-member lower house of parliament.

( With inputs from ANI )