Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan
Pakistan’s opposition parties on Thursday intensified their protest against Prime Minister Imran Khan, saying mere resignation is an “honorable exit” for him.
A defiant Khan said on Thursday that he would not resign despite losing the majority and insisted he would “fight till the last ball” and on Sunday face a no-confidence motion in the National Assembly that will decide where the country will go.
Pakistan Peoples Party President Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said that there is no safe path for Imran Khan now. “Only Imran’s resignation is an honorable exit for him. I suggest he do so.”
He said Imran’s attempt to polarize and defame national security forums and institutions is outrageous.
“Our information is that one of the ministers wrote and posted this so-called ‘threat’ letter. Then that minister showed this letter to Imran Khan. Imran waved this letter in a public meeting and used it in his favor Tried to do so. To run away from the constitutional process. Imran is trying to create pressure and dispute the institutions.”
Khan’s address on Thursday came at a turning point in his political career when he lost majority after defecting from his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party. Two of his allies also withdrew their support and joined the opposition.
“Honestly this man (Imran) is furious. He needs to be strangled or strangled before joking outside the country,” Maryam Nawaz, vice-president of the opposition Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), said in a tweet. In response to Imran Khan’s live address to the nation on Thursday.
He said, “This man is constantly proving that he does not deserve this highest position. Instead of crying in front of everyone, he should muster some courage and if there is some grace left in him then resign.”
On March 28, the Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly, Shahbaz Sharif, moved a resolution against the Prime Minister.
Khan needed 172 votes in the lower house of 342 to thwart the opposition’s attempt. However, the opposition claims that it has the support of 175 MPs and that the prime minister should resign immediately.
In a live address to the nation, the 69-year-old Khan also discussed a ‘danger letter’ and termed it as part of a foreign conspiracy to oust him as he was not acceptable to follow an independent foreign policy. He took the name of America on the back of the threatening letter, which seemed to be slip of tongue.
Sharif pointed out that till date Khan has not shown the letter to Parliament and the people, and was only sharing selected contents of the document and his perception about them. “Not showing the letter means there is no letter, Imran Niazi is once again telling a new lie as he usually does,” he said.
No Pakistani prime minister has completed five years in his tenure. Also, no prime minister in Pakistan’s history has ever been deposed via a no-confidence motion, and Khan is the third prime minister to face the challenge.