Pak PM Shehbaz Sharif mulls seeking vote of confidence

Islamabad, April 24 Amid the ongoing political turmoil in the country, Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is considering seeking a vote of confidence from the National Assembly, a media report said.

The coalition partners of the incumbent government have proposed Sharif to seek a vote of confidence from the Lower House of the Parliament amid Supreme Court's deadline regarding general elections in Punjab, Samaa TV reported.

The primer will hold consultation with the Cabinet regarding the vote of confidence.

The allies have also suggested the Prime Minister and the federal cabinet members to appear before the apex court, Samaa TV reported.

On the other hand, Sharif will make all political decisions after mutual consultation and consensus.

Earlier, the Supreme Court, while declaring the Election Commission of Pakistan's decision to delay the Assembly elections in two provinces as "unconstitutional", had ordered the government to hold snap polls in the country's most populous province of Punjab on May 14.

The recent verdict by the top court came amid an ongoing power struggle between the judiciary and the government. The government had recently passed a new law aimed at reducing the powers of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.

Adding to the tensions, several government officials publicly expressed doubts about the fairness of the top court, citing their "lack of confidence" in the three-member bench hearing the PTI case. This came after two other judges had recused, further intensifying the controversy, Samaa TV reported.

The government had requested a full bench comprising all the SC judges to hear the matter, but the top court had rejected the request. In response, the government rejected the court's decision, stating that it would only serve to "aggravate the crisis".