Pakistan’s parliament will vote on whether to remove Prime Minister Imran Khan from office on Saturday, days after he foiled a similar attempt, perhaps adding to the nuclear-armed country’s political and economic instability.
Khan promised to ‘fight’ against any attempt to replace him ahead of the vote, which he is generally anticipated to lose, the latest twist in a crisis that has jeopardised political and economic stability in the 220 million-strong South Asian nation.
The country’s Supreme Court concluded on Thursday that Khan behaved unconstitutionally last Sunday by preventing a no-confidence vote and dissolving parliament, forcing parliament to reassemble.
Around 10:30 a.m., lawmakers return to the lower house of parliament (0530 GMT). The fourth item on the day’s programme is a vote called by opposition leader Shehbaz Sharif, who is the front-runner to succeed Khan.
The 69-year-old prime minister, who came to power in 2018 with military backing, recently lost his legislative majority when supporters resigned his coalition government. Opposition parties claim he has failed to resuscitate Pakistan’s economy, which has been damaged by COVID-19, or to keep promises to make the country a corruption-free, prosperous, and respected nation on the international stage.
According to the opposition and some observers, Khan has a rift with the military, something he and the military both deny. For half of the state’s 75-year post-colonial history, the army has controlled, and no prime minister has served the full five-year tenure.
‘It’s really easy,’ said Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, another opposition leader, ‘whoever has a majority has the right to create a government. If Imran Khan gets a majority, he can form a government; if he doesn’t, we’ll make one.’
The prime leader, who came into power with strong popular support, said late Friday that he was saddened by the court ruling but accepted it. After dissolving parliament, he called an election.
However, he stated that any opposition administration that succeeds him will not be recognised.
‘I will not accept an imported administration,’ he said in a late-night address to the nation, implying that his ouster was the result of a foreign plot and calling for peaceful protests on Sunday. ‘I’m prepared for a fight.’
Since becoming Prime Minister, Khan has worked to improve relations with Russia, which he opposed during the US-led intervention in Afghanistan. He has accused the US of aiding a plot to depose him, but he has provided no proof to back up his accusation, which Washington has refuted.
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