No-trust vote: Pak PM Imran Khan says 'will bowl an inswinger and take three Opposition wickets'

Islamabad: Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Friday said he will bowl an inswing yorker against Opposition leaders Shehbaz Sharif, Asif Ali Zardari and Maulana Fazlur Rehman and "take all the three wickets" after the trio joined hands to file a no-confidence motion against him.

Addressing a rally in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's Lower Dir, Khan lashed out at the three-party heads, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz President Sharif, Pakistan Peoples Party co-chair Zardari and Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam Fazl (JUI-F) chief Rehman, who have teamed up to file a no-trust motion against him, holding the government's inability to control inflation that has badly hit the ordinary people.

Terming the opposition leaders as "three stooges", Imran, a former cricketer-turned-politician, recalled instances from the past when, according to him, these leaders had gone against Pakistan's national interests.

Khan, who was one of the fastest bowlers in the world and one of the pioneers of the reverse swing bowling technique, said he had been praying that they go ahead with their plan to file a no-confidence motion against him so that he was given an opportunity to "take three wickets in one ball".

"I am competing against these three dacoits and ... I will take all three wickets with one inswing yorker," the 69-year-old prime minister was quoted as saying by the Dawn newspaper.

"They tell me that they will topple my government if I don't close corruption cases against them. But I tell them that I will not close the cases even if I have to give my life for it. I am not doing politics against you but fighting a jihad," Khan said.

He also accused the Opposition of trying to buy the votes of lawmakers from his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party and its allied partners to dislodge him from power. Reacting to Khan's statements, Shehbaz Sharif and Rehman said the prime minister should introspect before targeting his opponents.

The Opposition leaders also criticised Khan over the use of disrespectful language. "Your speeches clearly show that you are not capable of serving as a prime minister," Rehman said.

Khan came to power in 2018 and the next general election is scheduled to be held in 2023. In the 342-member National Assembly, the Opposition needed the support of 172 members to oust Prime Minister Khan.

Last year, Khan received 178 votes when he sought a vote of confidence after a candidate supported by his party lost the Senate election. On paper, Khan still enjoys a majority in the National Assembly, comprising 155 members of his PTI and 23 from coalition partners. The Opposition has 163 members.

The Speaker of the National Assembly is expected to call the lower house in session by March 22, while voting on the no-confidence motion must take place between March 26 and March 30, an earlier Dawn report said.