A close aide of President Asif Ali Zardari has ruled out the possibility of Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani being asked to seek a vote of confidence in the wake of the Pakistan People's Party-led coalition being reduced to a minority in parliament.
Law Minister Babar Awan, a confidant of Zardari, said there was no possibility of the President asking the Prime Minister to seek a vote of confidence from the 342-member National Assembly or lower house of parliament.
The government was plunged into crisis yesterday after the Muttahida Qaumi Movement, the second largest party in the ruling coalition, decided to withdraw support to the PPP.
The MQM, with its 25 lawmakers, played a key role in propping up the government, which is at least 12 seats short of a majority.
Law Minister Awan told The News daily: "First, there is no question that the President would ask the Prime Minister to obtain a fresh vote of confidence".
"Second, if the government is defeated in the National Assembly on the passage of the finance bill, then the Prime Minister needs to seek a fresh vote of confidence.
"And at the present moment, there is no finance bill before the National Assembly. Third, there is no one else to ask the Prime Minister to obtain a fresh vote of confidence".
Awan contended that a replay of the contentious politics of the 1990s would lead to a "doomsday scenario" for Pakistan and democracy.
Meanwhile, the presidency and the government are hoping that no political party will introduce a no-confidence motion against the Prime Minister in the National Assembly.
The presidency is confident that the grievances of disgruntled coalition partners MQM and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam will be addressed and they will soon review their decision to sit on opposition benches, PPP leaders told the Dawn newspaper.
"We are hopeful that political parties will act with maturity because the PPP has already assured them that their concerns will be addressed," said presidential spokesman Farhatullah Babar.
The government and the President have urged the MQM to review its decision to sit in the opposition benches, Babar said.
There have been contacts between the MQM and the PPP after the former's decision to part ways with the coalition at the centre, he said.
Babar tried to dispel the perception that any party would table a no-confidence motion against the Prime Minister or oppose any resolution or decision to be taken by parliament for the betterment of the country and democracy.
"The JUI had decided to sit on the opposition benches but it voted in support of the 19th Amendment in the Senate on Saturday," he said.
Information Minister Qamar Zaman Kaira said the government would continue to hold dialogue with the annoyed coalition partners and hoped that they would rejoin the government soon.
"We will take care of all concerns of the MQM," he said.
