In a high-octane midnight drama, Pakistan’s beleaguered Prime Minister Imran Khan was ousted from power as 174 members of the country’s National Assembly went against him during a vote of no confidence.
Cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan has become the first prime minister in the history of Pakistan to be removed from office through a no-confidence motion.
No-confidence motion was made mandatory after Pakistan The Supreme Court on Thursday unanimously overturned the decision of Deputy Speaker Qasim Suri On rejecting the no-confidence motion against Imran Khan
With Imran Khan as the Pakistan PM, the stage is clear for the Leader of the Opposition and the President of the Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N). Shahbaz Sharif will be the next Prime Minister of the country, The National Assembly will be reconvened on Sunday at 2 pm (Pakistan time) to officially elect the new prime minister.
#Breaking , Imran Khan ‘clean bold’ as PM of Pakistan#Imran Khan #Pakistan #Pakistan Political Crisis , @PoulomiMSaha pic.twitter.com/kSnzxvF4Wu
— India Today (@IndiaToday) April 9, 2022
Here’s what happened today to the National Assembly of Pakistan and its aftermath:
Imran Khan lost the no-confidence vote
The National Assembly called for a no-confidence motion on Saturday at 10.30 am (Pakistan time) but the proceedings were delayed several times. Voting began at 11.58 pm on Saturday and continued till midnight.
Moments before voting began, Speaker Asad Qaiser and Vice President Qasim Suri tendered their resignations. Leader of the opposition party Ayaz Sadiq was asked to handle the assembly session.
While Imran Khan chose to remain absent during the voting, his party MPs staged a walkout. The no-confidence motion was finally passed in the 342-member National Assembly with 174 lawmakers voting against the Imran Khan government.
Imran Khan had vacated the PM residence even before his government lost the no-confidence motion in the National Assembly.
Happiness in opposition, Imran’s supporters protest
After the no-confidence motion ended, opposition leaders rushed to the National Assembly to congratulate Shehbaz Sharif. The PML-N chief vowed that “the new government will not indulge in vendetta politics”.
“I do not want to go back to the bitterness of the past. We want to forget them and move on. We will not take revenge or do injustice, we will not send people to jail without any reason, law and justice will take it of course,” Shehbaz Sharif said in his speech after the declaration of the poll results.
#Breaking , Pakistan assembly shows ‘trust’ on Imran. Listen to Pakistan’s Leader of Opposition Shahbaz Sharif#Imran Khan #Pakistan #Pakistan Political Crisis , @PoulomiMSaha pic.twitter.com/AgIGjgUHY8
— India Today (@IndiaToday) April 9, 2022
Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari also congratulated the assembly for passing the no-confidence motion.
Meanwhile, activists of Imran Khan’s party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) staged a protest outside the National Assembly.
Imran Khan reaches Supreme Court
Voting for the no-confidence motion faced several delays, with the Imran Khan government filing a review petition in the Supreme Court challenging its decision to reinstate the National Assembly and declaring the deputy speaker’s decision unconstitutional.
Read also | Pakistan should learn self-respect from India, no superpower can impose conditions on Delhi: Imran Khan
The petition urged the Supreme Court to “review, recall and set aside” its order, “which is based on errors floating on the surface” and “to be dismissed/discharged for the above reasons”.
How Imran Khan was ousted from power?
On March 8, Shahbaz Sharif moved a no-confidence motion against the Imran Khan government in the National Assembly. The opposition claimed that the move was brought in the backdrop of claims of corruption and economic mismanagement against the Imran Khan government.
Imran Khan, in turn, alleged that the opposition’s action was a part of a “foreign conspiracy”, targeting the US directly.
Voting was to be held on April 3, but on that day The Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly rejected the motionAfter which Imran Khan called for mid-term elections. Before his term ended in August 2023, Imran Khan asked President Alvi to dissolve the 342-member National Assembly.
On 3 April, the Supreme Court overruled the deputy speaker’s decision to dismiss the no-confidence motion and called for a vote on 9 April.