“Pakistan’s democratic institutions are facing a new threat. On March 8, opposition political parties sought a no-confidence motion in parliament to remove Prime Minister Imran Khan. Government officials responded by threatening violence and briefly detaining two members of parliament (MPs). The situation risks spiralling into a dangerous confrontation,” it said in a dispatch titled ‘Pakistan’s no-confidence vote should respect the democratic process.

The report was also shared by Human Rights Watch Executive Director Kenneth Roth in a tweet.

Under Pakistan’s Constitution, it read that the prime minister ceased to hold office if the majority of the members of the National Assembly vote for a motion of no-confidence. The government has announced that the vote would be held on March 28, a day after its power show at D-Chowk – one of the routes to the parliament – in Islamabad.

1,000 FC, Rangers personnel each to be deployed in capital on day of no-trust vote

The rights body also expressed concerns over the police operation at the Parliament Lodges on March 10. The police alleged that volunteers from the opposition Jamiat-Ulema-e-Islam-F had entered the apartments without permission. All those detained were released within hours.

Furthermore, it expressed concerns over the statements of the federal ministers in the wake of the operation. “Federal Aviation Minister Ghulam Sarwar Khan threatened to ‘blow up the opposition in a suicide attack’ and Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Political Communication Shahbaz Gill said that photographs of ‘traitors’ – meaning any members of PM Imran’s Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf who votes against the premier – will be displayed in cities so people could identify them,” it read.

It also cited Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry's statement that “one million” supporters would come to Islamabad on voting day. Fawad in an interview with Aaj News had warned that anyone who wishes to vote against the premier would have to pass through the people on their way in and out of the parliament building.” In response, the Pakistan Democratic Alliance called on its supporters to also gather in Islamabad, setting the “stage for a potentially violent confrontation.”

The HRW was of the view that the government has a responsibility to uphold the Constitution and allow for voting without threats or violence on the no-confidence motion. Both the government and opposition should send a strong message to their supporters not to subvert the democratic process or sway the vote through intimidation or other criminal acts, it added.

“Parliamentary voting is a core democratic principle and attempts to obstruct it risk further undermining an institution vital to representative government and the rule of law,” it read.