Islamabad: Pakistan’s embattled Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday effectively lost majority in Parliament after a key partner of the ruling coalition joined the ranks of the Opposition, which has tabled a no-confidence motion against his government in the National Assembly. PM Imran Khan requires 172 votes in the lower house of 342 to foil the Opposition’s bid to topple him. However, Maulana Fazlur Rehman, chief of Jamiat Ulema-i-Islama Fazl (JUI-F), said that the Opposition has the support of 175 lawmakers and the prime minister should resign.
The Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P), a key ally of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf-led coalition government, with its seven members announced that it has parted ways with the government during a joint press conference of the opposition parties here. It was also announced that Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) president and Leader of the Opposition Shehbaz Sharif would be next prime minister of the country after removal of 69-year-old Khan. Sharif said that it was an important day as all opposition parties have joined together to address the problems faced by Pakistan.
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‘We want to make a new beginning for politics of tolerance and true democracy’, MQM-P chief Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui told reporters. ‘I announce to support the opposition in the parliament’, he said. Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, chairman of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), said the support by MQM was a big development and with this the prime minister has lost the majority. ‘The prime minister has no option and he will have to resign’, he said. Bilawal also said that Sharif will soon be elected as the next prime minister. Another ally of the ruling coalition, the Balochistan Awami Party (BAP) with five members in the lower house had announced on Monday that it had ‘accepted the opposition’s invitation’ to vote against Khan.
Meanwhile, Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid said that Prime Minister Khan will address the nation on Wednesday evening and discuss the prevailing political situation. Briefly talking to the media after a special session of cabinet, which was chaired by the premier, Rashid said Khan also shared a ‘threatening letter’ with the cabinet colleagues, who in return expressed complete trust in him.
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Addressing a mammoth rally in the national capital on Sunday, Khan had claimed that foreign powers were involved in a conspiracy to topple his coalition government. He pulled a document from his pocket to exhibit it for the charged crowd, saying it was the letter sent to threaten him. To a question if Khan would announce his resignation in his speech, Rashid said: ‘No way. He will fight till the last ball’. The minister also said that Khan himself or foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi may also brief the parliament in-camera about the threatening letter. Notably, no Pakistani prime minister has ever completed a full five-year term in office.
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