Pakistan’s troubled Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday canceled his address to the nation. There was speculation that the cricketer-turned-politician is set to announce his resignation today after joining hands with his party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf ally and opposition to main coalition partner Muttahida Quami Movement Pakistan (MQM). are supposed to. According to sources, the resignation of the 69-year-old leader will now come directly.
Earlier in the day, the country’s Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid had said that the prime minister would address the nation and discuss the current political situation. However, PTI Senator Faisal Javed Khan later confirmed the cancellation of the PM’s address.
Pakistan plunged into political trouble after opposition parties filed a no-confidence motion in the National Assembly on March 8. Voting on this is expected to be held on April 3.
No Pakistani prime minister has completed five years in his tenure.
Here are the top developments of the ongoing political turmoil in Pakistan:
Prime Minister’s cabinet, meeting with journalists
Prime Minister Khan shared some of the details of what he called a “foreign conspiracy letter” with senior journalists and cabinet members, asserting that the document was authentic. Khan, at a public rally on March 27, waving a purported letter declaring that a foreign conspiracy was underway, citing the opposition’s no-confidence motion as evidence of a foreign-funded move to topple his government. remove from power.
Several opposition leaders had asked Khan to disclose the details of the letter, while condemning it as an attempt to deflect pressure and stay in power. Khan was the first to take the letter to the cabinet into confidence when Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi briefed the participants about it.
This was followed by a meeting of the Prime Minister with a group of journalists, who were also briefed about it. ARY news channel said that the letter was based on the minutes of a meeting of a Pakistan Embassy official with the officials of the host country.
Geo News, quoting the prime minister, told reporters that the letter used threatening language and talked about a no-confidence motion against the prime minister even before it was tabled in the National Assembly. The channel reported that the premiere declined to share the exact threatening words used in the letter, adding the country’s name was also not disclosed.
Imran Khan lost majority
Khan effectively lost a majority in parliament after the MQM-P, a key ally of the PTI-led coalition government, announced seven of its members had broken ties with the government during a joint press conference of opposition parties in Islamabad. have taken.
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.
“We want to make a new beginning for the politics of tolerance and true democracy. I declare to support the opposition in Parliament,” MQM-P chief Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui told reporters. 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.
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.
‘Imran Khan will not resign’
Khan will play till the last ball, will not resign Neelam Irshad SheikhThe spokesperson of the ruling party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) said in a special conversation with CNN-News18. “PM Imran Khan is not leaving office. He is an elected Prime Minister. He will play till his last ball.
National Security Committee meeting likely
Reportedly, Khan was also planning to convene a meeting of the top military and civilian-led National Security Committee to discuss the letter and its implications. He can also give brief information to the Parliament in closed session.
(with inputs from PTI)
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