Fazlur Rehman is telling the truth about VONC, says Raja Riaz

Former Opposition Leader in National Assembly Raja Riaz has backed JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman’s claims regarding no-confidence vote against former prime minister Imran Khan, saying that the latter was telling the truth, ARY News reported on Sunday.

Speaking exclusively to ARY News, Raja Raiz said that the JUI-F chief held a meeting with him and apprised him of support on no-confidence motion against Imran Khan from several quarters.

“Now he [Fazlur Rehman] revealed that [ex-COAS] Qamar Bajwa was behind the ouster of Imran Khan so he was telling the truth,” the former PTI leader said. Raja Riaz claimed that Maulana Fazl was taken aback by the injustice and his party’s seats were ‘snatched away’.

He further said that a no-confidence vote cannot succeed without support. “When Shehbaz Sharif inquired me regarding the no-trust move, I offered my support,” he added.

Maulana Fazlur Rehman held former army chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa and ex-spymaster Lt Gen Faiz Hameed, who was the then-Peshawar corps commander, responsible for the no-confidence vote against former prime minister Imran Khan and the PTI government.

Maulana Fazl was among top opposition leaders who spearheaded the efforts to oust the PTI founder under the banner of the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM).

However later, the JUI-F chief backtracked from his statement regarding Faiz Hameed’s involvement in bringing no-confidence vote (VONC) against former prime minister Imran Khan, dubbing it a ‘slip of tongue’.

In April 2022, Pakistan saw for the first time in its history the ouster of a prime minister through a no-confidence vote. The efforts for the PTI founder’s removal were led by the then-opposition.

As many as 174 votes were cast in favor of a no-confidence motion against PM Imran Khan. This was the first time in the history of Pakistan that a no-confidence motion against an elected prime minister succeeded.

Following the resignation of the NA speaker and deputy speaker, PML-N’s Ayaz Sadiq as a panel of the chairman of the house began the proceedings on the matter.

The PTI had accused the country’s then-rulers of colluding with the US and hatching a regime change conspiracy to topple Imran’s government – a claim denied by the United States.