Pakistan National Assembly session adjourned

Islamabad [Pakistan], March 25 (ANI): The much-awaited session of Pakistan's National Assembly to take up the no-confidence motion against the Imran Khan-led Pakistan-Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government has been adjourned to March 28 without the motion being tabled.
The session was adjourned shortly after tributes were offered to Khayal Zaman, a member of the house from the ruling PTI who had recently passed away.
Citing parliamentary convention, speaker of the National Assembly Asad Qaiser said the first sitting after the death of a Member of the National Assembly (MNA) is limited to prayers for the soul of the departed and tributes fellow lawmakers wish to pay them, The Dawn reported.
Qaiser asserted that he would conduct proceedings "as per rules and procedures" after which he adjourned the session till 4 pm on March 28.
National Assembly Asad Qaiser has previously been slammed by the Opposition for siding with Imran Khan and even attending the party meetings of the ruling PTI.
The National Assembly Secretariat had on Thursday evening issued a 15-point 'Orders of the Day' for the National Assembly session, which included the no-confidence motion.
The development comes even as the Opposition parties had vowed to not allow any adjournment of the session without tabling of the motion.
In a meeting on Thursday night, it was decided that the opposition would lodge strong protests if the proceedings were adjourned, media reports said.
The Opposition parties had made elaborate preparations for the session, which was demanded in a letter to the National Assembly speaker on March 8.
On the other hand, the ruling PTI has not issued any special instructions to its members for attending the session as the session has been requisitioned by the opposition
Earlier, the joint Opposition had lodged protests over the session not being convened within the stipulated 14 days of the requisition, calling the delay by the speaker unconstitutional.
The Pakistani National Assembly has a total strength of 342 members, with the majority mark being 172. The PTI led coalition was formed with the support of 179 members, with Imran Khan's PTI having 155 members, and four major allies Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P), Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q), Balochistan Awami Party (BAP) and Grand Democratic Alliance (GDA) having seven, five, five and three members respectively.
Imran Khan's situation is precarious given that three of the four allies, that is, MQM-P, PML-Q and BAP have stated their support to the Opposition's no-confidence motion and said that they will vote accordingly
Upset with the news of allies joining the opposition camp, Imran Khan, in a last-ditch attempt, recently dispatched a team of senior PTI leaders to meet the allies and assure them that their reservations would be addressed.
Adding to Khan's woes, almost 20 members from his own party had recently sought refuge in the Sindh House in Islamabad, and are expected to vote in favour of the no-confidence motion.
The Opposition parties in Pakistan on the other hand hold the support of 162 members of the house and are expected to be joined by the three ruling coalition parties during the vote, helping them cross the majority mark, with 179 members supporting the no-confidence motion. (ANI)