Imran Khan Removed As Pakistan Prime Minister After Losing No-Trust Vote

Mumbai: Imran Khan has been removed as Pakistan Prime Minister after he lost the no-trust vote against him in Pakistan’s National Assembly. The results of the vote were declared at around 1.30 am IST, with 174 members favouring the resolution of no-trust.

Pakistan’s parliament had begun voting on a no-confidence motion against Khan, ending a 13-hour impasse over the vote he was expected to lose.

No prime minister has ever served a full term in Pakistan, but Khan is the first to lose office via a no-confidence motion. It was not immediately clear when the assembly would elect a new prime minister, but opposition leader Shehbaz Sharif was almost certain to be elected after weeks of high political drama to lead the nuclear-armed nation of 220 million people.

The media report said the voting took place after the country’s powerful army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa met Khan as criticism was mounting over the delay in the parliamentary process.

Lower House Speaker Asad Qaiser, a member of Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party, which had adjourned the House thrice on Saturday, announced his resignation, triggering drama in the chamber.

“The country’s interests must be the priority,” he said.

Khan’s aides last week blocked a no-confidence motion and dissolved the lower house of parliament, allowing the country’s highest court to intervene and pass a vote.

Supporters of the Prime Minister claim that there is a foreign conspiracy to oust him.

Khan, 69, came to power in 2018 with the support of the military, but recently lost his parliamentary majority when allies left his coalition government.

Opposition parties alleged that Khan has failed to honour the promise of reviving a Covid-19 battered economy globally or making Pakistan a corruption-free, prosperous nation.

The cricket star-turned-politician had vowed to “struggle” against any move to replace him.

Khan, who garnered widespread public support when he took office, said late Friday night that he was disappointed with the apex court’s decision but accepted it. But he said he would not recognize any opposition government to replace him.

Khan has accused the United States of supporting a plot to oust him, without offering evidence of his claim, which Washington has dismissed.

He opposed the U.S.-led intervention in Afghanistan and has developed relations with Russia since becoming prime minister.

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