Prime Minister of Pakistan Imran Khan.
Facing a no-confidence vote in the National Assembly, Pakistan’s crisis-ridden Prime Minister Imran Khan effectively lost a majority in parliament when a key partner of his ruling coalition, the Muttahida Quami Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P), joined the ranks of the opposition. Have become. MQM-P, a key ally of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf-led coalition government, along with seven of its members, announced that it had severed ties with the government during a joint press conference of opposition parties. Prime Minister Khan needs 172 votes to thwart the opposition’s attempt to topple him in the lower house of 342. However, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islama Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman said the opposition has the support of 175 MPs and the prime minister should resign. It was also announced that Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) president and Leader of the Opposition Shahbaz Sharif would be the country’s next prime minister after the ouster of 69-year-old Khan. The PTI has 155 members in the 342-member National Assembly and needs at least 172 MPs to retain power. Khan is also facing rebellion by nearly two dozen of his MPs and allies. No prime minister in Pakistan’s history has ever been ousted via a no-confidence motion, and Khan is the third prime minister to face the challenge.
- “We want to make a new beginning in the politics of tolerance and true democracy,” MQM-P chief Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui told reporters. “I declare to support the opposition in Parliament.”
- Sharif said it is an important day as all the opposition parties have come together to solve the problems of Pakistan. “Even if the Premier is elected, he should resign to set a new tradition,” he said.
- Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) president Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari said the MQM’s support is a big development and with it the prime minister has lost majority. “The prime minister has no choice and will have to resign,” he said. Bilawal also said that Sharif would soon be elected as the next prime minister.
- Another ally of the ruling coalition, the Balochistan Awami Party (BAP), with five members in the lower house, announced on Monday that it had “accepted the opposition’s invitation” to vote against Khan.
- Meanwhile, Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid said that Prime Minister Khan will address the nation on Wednesday evening and discuss the current political situation.
- Pakistan’s Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry also rubbished reports of the army chief asking Prime Minister Imran Khan to resign. Choudhary briefly interacted with the media in Islamabad, where he was asked about reports of a meeting between Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa and Prime Minister Khan.
- Briefing the media after the special session of the cabinet chaired by the prime minister, Rashid said Khan also shared a “threatening letter” with cabinet colleagues, who in turn reposed full faith in him.
- Addressing a massive rally in the national capital on Sunday, Khan had claimed that foreign forces were involved in a conspiracy to topple his coalition government. He took out a document from his pocket and asked him to display it in front of the accused mob, it was a letter sent to threaten him.
- Imran Khan shared some details of what he called a “foreign conspiracy letter” with senior journalists and cabinet members, asserting that the document was authentic.
- Asked whether Khan would announce his resignation in his speech, Rashid said, “Not at all. He will fight till the last ball.” The minister also said that Khan himself or Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi could also inform Parliament about the threatening letter in the room. Earlier, Prime Minister Khan had called a special session of the federal cabinet.
,With inputs from PTI,
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