In a googly that stunned the opposition, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has asked the President to dissolve the national assembly and announced fresh polls after the last-minute dismissal of the no-trust motion.
In a short address to the nation, Imran Khan asked the people of Pakistan to “Get ready for elections”. “The conspiracy to take down this government has collapsed,” he added.
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The no-trust motion against the Pakistan Prime Minister was dismissed by the Deputy Speaker Qasim Suri, who termed it against the Constitution and rules of Pakistan.
The cricketer-turned politician who captained Pakistan to their only World Cup win in 1992, had earlier hinted he still had a card to play.
“I have a plan for tomorrow (Sunday), you should not be worried about it. I will show them and will defeat them in the assembly,” he had said.
He had also refused to resign, promising to “play till the last ball” and “look the traitors in the eye at the assembly”.
Imran’s Googly
This morning, he skipped the assembly session as his supporters roamed the streets in response to his call for a peaceful protest against what he said was a “conspiracy” hatched outside Pakistan to unseat him.
Mr Khan has accused the US of meddling in Pakistan’s affairs and alleged that the opposition was conspiring with Washington to remove him because he would not take the side of the US and Europe on global issues against Russia and China.
Mr Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party effectively lost majority in the 342-member assembly last week when a key coalition partner said its seven lawmakers would vote with the opposition. More than a dozen lawmakers from the ruling party also indicated that they would cross the floor.
The opposition is headed by the Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N) and the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) – two usually feuding dynastic groups that dominated national politics for decades until Khan forged a coalition against them.
Opposition Reacts.
Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, current chairman of the Pakistan Peoples Party, said, “Government has violated constitution. Did not allow voting on no confidence motion. The united opposition is not leaving parliament. Our lawyers are on their way to Supreme Court. We call on ALL institutions to protect, uphold, defend and implement the constitution of Pakistan. We will move the Supreme Court and ask it to hear the case today.”
“We will not leave parliament until both decisions [rejection of no-confidence motion and dissolution of assemblies] are reversed,” said Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz leader Maryam Aurangzeb.
Attorney General of Pakistan Khalid Javed and Deputy Attorney General Raja Khalid Mehmood Khan have resigned, as per Pakistani media.