RAWALPINDI: Prime Minister Imran Khan on Saturday hoped that most of the dissident lawmakers of his party, whose potential vote against him in the looming no-trust move in the National Assembly could threaten his government, will return back to the PTI because of “public pressure”.

Terming the no-confidence resolution against him a “wonderful opportunity”, he said, “I predict that as the no-confidence vote nears — I am seeing the public’s anger over selling of consciences — most of them (dissident lawmakers) will come back.”

While addressing the groundbreaking ceremony of the Rawalpindi Ring Road project, PM Imran Khan said he was giving the lawmakers the “benefit of doubt”, adding that PTI members had been reaching out to them.

The premier strongly criticised what he termed “illegal activities” at Sindh House. “There is a marketplace for buying consciences,” he said, claiming that looted money, including funds “from the Sindh government”, were being used to buy votes.

“The Sindh government’s money is public money. It is illegal to spend that money to buy politicians’ conscience,” he said. The prime minister said police had never before been called to the Sindh House for its protection until recently. “What did you fear? If some PTI members had grievances and wanted to leave, why did they need protection?” he questioned.

He reiterated that the no-confidence motion was a “blessing from God” so the Pakistani people could see the political system of the country that enables the “buying off of people, looting of the country and then sending the ill-gotten wealth abroad”.

Taking a jibe at the opposition, he said, “Nobody has any shame. This is not democracy.”

The premier said Pakistan’s democratic system was based on the Westminster model where “no one can even think of taking money to do floor-crossing.”

If anyone tried to offer a parliamentarian in the United Kingdom money, he would be very fearful of what the public would do if he got caught, he said. However, in Pakistan, “money is being given under police protection,” he added.

Referring to the storming of the Sindh House by some PTI workers a day earlier, PM Imran Khan said they had “become emotional”.

“I tell everyone that peaceful protest is your right but do not clash,” the premier said but called on the public to tell whether what was happening in connection with the no-confidence vote was “real politics”.

The world has changed and social media now showed everything that was happening, he said, adding that the country would see a never-seen-before number of people in Islamabad on March 27 for the PTI’s rally at D-Chowk. “The public will show where they stand on March 27,” he said.

Earlier, the prime minister performed the groundbreaking of the Rawalpindi Ring Road project — which is a 38.3 kilometres long road that will comprise six lanes and an interchange will also be constructed on it.

The RRR project will help ease traffic flow in the twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad. The project will also provide job opportunities and promote economic activities.

He stressed the need to ring-fence the major cities for the protection of cultivable land, adding that in this regard, he has ordered the relevant authorities to produce master plans of all megacities at the earliest.

The prime minister due to the rapid increase in population our cities are under stress and they are expanding and green cover is fading. He said special attention is being paid to all new projects to protect green areas and make them environment friendly.

Mentioning the importance of Central Business District and Ravi city, the prime minister said these projects will not only increase economic activities but will also help control the unplanned sprawl of Punjab’s capital.

The prime minister said Lai Nullah is also of significant importance for the twin cities, therefore, soon its plan would be finalised for construction.