The opposition parties in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Monday withdrew the no-trust move against Chief Minister Mahmood Khan, almost an hour before they were expected to table the motion in the provincial assembly today, Aaj News reported.

ANP parliamentary leader Sardar Babak told Aaj News that the no-confidence motion, which was submitted to the KP Assembly Secretariat on Friday, was aimed at “saving” the august house from getting dissolved. “The no-trust move was not tabled to oust the government.”

He added that the provincial government has assured them of not dissolving the assembly.

Babak dispelled any impression that the other side of the aisle did not have enough numbers to oust the chief minister.

“We had submitted the motion with an assurance and clarification that the Constitution gives us the right to take such a step in case the CM advises the governor to dissolve [the assembly]… we were observing the situation at both the national, provincial assemblies and thought of taking advantage of the Constitutional facility by submitting the motion,” he said.

“Now if the government does not want to dissolve the assembly we do not need the motion,” Babak said and expressed hope the KP government would stand up to its promise.

Earlier, the opposition parties were expected to table the motion against CM Mahmood Khan in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly in today's assembly session, a day after the united opposition in the lower house of parliament ousted former prime minister Imran Khan.

KP Assembly Speaker Mushtaq Ghani has summoned the provincial assembly session today at 1pm after it was earlier adjourned for April 10, according to the official handout issued by the provincial assembly.

The opposition parties in KP on Friday submitted a no-trust move against Chief Minister Mahmood Khan at the Assembly Secretariat. The document was signed by 36 lawmakers of the united opposition – including 17 of the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal, 12 of the Awami National Party, six of the Pakistan Peoples Party and one of Jamaat-i-Islami.

Out of 145 members of the provincial assembly, the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf has a majority in the House with 94 MPAs, while the opposition has 51 lawmakers in the KP Assembly.

As per the agenda for today’s assembly session - which is the same for April 10 - the opposition parties' leaders would “move a motion for leave under sub-rule (2) of rule 18D of the Provincial Assembly of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Procedure and Conduct of Business Rules, 1988 to move Resolution for a vote of no-confidence against the Chief Minister, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa under Article 136 of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.”

Moreover, the resolution read, “This assembly resolves that the chief minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Mr Mahmood Khan, has lost the confidence of the majority of the members of the provincial assembly of KP, therefore, he should cease to hold the office of the chief minister under Clause (3) of Article 136 of the Constitution of Islamic Republic of Pakistan.”

It is pertinent to mention that incumbent KP Governor Shah Farman has decided to tender his resignation when Shehbaz Sharif will become the prime minister.

Mahmood Khan

PTI leader Mahmood Khan, who hails from Swat, was elected through the division of the house system after securing 77 votes to Mian Nisar Gul’s 33 on August 16, 2018.

Then on August 17, 2018, he was sworn in as KP chief minister.

Khan hails from Swat and holds a master’s degree in agriculture. He was elected from the PK-9 seat in 2018, and had been a member of the PTI since 2012.