KARACHI, Pakistan
Pakistan's parliament will convene on Friday to take up a no-confidence motion filed by the opposition alliance against Prime Minister Imran Khan.
Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) party is struggling to maintain a narrow majority as his allies appear to be uneasy over continuing their support to the government.
In the 342-member house, the ruling PTI commands 155 seats. It depends on its allies to touch the magic figure of 172 to maintain a simple majority.
Its allies, Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid-I-Azam (PML-Q) and Balochistan Awami Party (BAP), have five seats each, and Muttahida Quami Movement (MQM) have four seats.
The PML (Q) and the MQM are undecided yet whether to support or oppose the no-confidence motion.
Apart from these allies, the PTI is grappling with deep internal rifts as at least 13 lawmakers have openly announced support for the opposition-led no-confidence move.
The opposition, which has 162 seats in the house, requires 10 more votes to oust the prime minister.
The main opposition parties, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan People's Party (PPP), have 84 and 56 seats respectively, followed by Jamiat Ulema Islam (JUI) with 14 and the Balochistan National Party with four.
According to the Constitution of Pakistan, if a no-trust resolution against the premier is passed by a majority of the total membership of the lower house, the prime minister ceases to hold office.
Jamaat-e-Islami, a mainstream religious party, which has only one seat in the house, has hinted that it will stay neutral.
The opposition claims that even if the allies do not vote for the motion, it has sufficient numbers to defeat the government, a thinly veiled reference to PTI dissidents.
The government, however, contends that the opposition alliance is going to suffer its "worst-ever defeat" in the no-confidence motion.
The current party position in the lower house or National Assembly is:
Ruling alliance:
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) 155
Muttahida Quami Movement 7
Pakistan Muslim League-Q 5
Balochistan Awami Party 5
Grand Democratic Alliance 3
Awami Muslim League 1
Jamhoori Watan Party 1
Independents 2
Opposition alliance:
Pakistan Muslim League-N 84
Pakistan People’s Party 56
Mutahida Majlis-e-Amal 15
Balochistan National Party 4
Awami National Party 1
Independents 2
