Pakistani PM faces dismissal as Parliament sits for no-confidence vote

Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan appeared likely to be removed from office later on Sunday as Parliament met to vote on a no-confidence motion after weeks of political turmoil.

No prime minister of Pakistan has ever served a full term, and Khan faces the biggest challenge to his rule since his election in 2018, with his opponents accusing him of economic mismanagement and clumsy foreign policy.

Newspapers on Sunday carried ominous headlines about Khan’s political fate, with the country’s largest English-language daily, The News, calling it a “final countdown.”

“A new chapter in the history of Pakistani democracy could be written today,” writes the influential newspaper Dawn.

Authorities set up a ring of steel around the National Assembly in the capital, using shipping containers to block roads after Khan called on his supporters to take to the streets on Saturday.

His Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party effectively lost its majority in the 342-member assembly last week when a coalition partner said its seven lawmakers would vote with the opposition.

More than a dozen PTI lawmakers have also indicated they will switch parties.

The opposition needs 172 votes for the motion to succeed, but in the past parties have resorted to physically obstructing lawmakers by blocking access to the National Assembly, leading to chases and even accusations of kidnapping.

Khan accused the opposition of conspiring with “foreign powers” to remove him because he will not side with the West on global issues against Russia and China.

Earlier this week, he accused the United States of interfering in Pakistan’s affairs.

Local media reported that Khan received a briefing letter from Islamabad’s ambassador to Washington in which a senior US official said they believed relations would be better if Khan left office.

In Washington last week, State Department spokesman Ned Price told reporters there was “no truth” to the allegations.

– The opposition gathers –

The opposition is led by the Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N) and the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) – two usually feuding dynastic groups that dominated national politics for decades until Khan forged a coalition against them.

If Khan leaves, PML-N’s Shehbaz Sharif is expected to become the next prime minister.

Sharif is the younger brother of three-time prime minister Nawaz Sharif, who was ousted in 2017 and jailed for corruption but is currently in Britain after being released from prison for medical treatment.

On Saturday, the government decided to send Sharif back to prison pending trial on money laundering charges pending since 2020, asking the Lahore court to revoke his bail.

A decision is expected on Monday.

Khan was elected after promising to sweep away decades of entrenched corruption and cronyism, but he has struggled to maintain support in the face of soaring inflation, a weak rupee and crippling debt.

Some analysts say Khan has also lost crucial military support – something both sides deny – and that Pakistan’s military is key to political power.

There have been four military coups – and at least as many unsuccessful coups – since independence in 1947, and the country has spent more than three decades under army rule.

Debate on the no-confidence motion was scheduled to begin on Thursday, but the vice president – from Khan’s party – suspended proceedings when lawmakers refused to take up other items on the agenda first.

Khan, a former international cricket star who in 1992 led Pakistan to their only World Cup victory, suggested on Saturday that he still had a card to play.

“I have a plan for tomorrow, don’t worry. I’ll show them and beat them in the assembly.”

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