In the political crisis in Pakistan, parliament wants to hold a vote of no confidence in Prime Minister Imran Khan. After a decision by the Supreme Court, the way is clear. The former cricket star is at risk of losing power.
Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan said in a televised address on Friday that he would accept the verdict of the no-confidence vote to be held.
(dpa)
Pakistan’s parliament plans to hold a no-confidence vote against Prime Minister Imran Khan this Saturday. The Supreme Court ordered the vote amid a political crisis on Thursday. An eagerly awaited vote of no confidence had surprisingly not been held beforehand due to alleged unconstitutionality. This must now be made up for after the verdict.
The judges also considered that the dissolution of parliament by President Arif Alvi was unlawful. The MPs can therefore resume their work. For days, security forces have been deployed in the capital, Islamabad, and roads to the parliament building have been blocked with shipping containers for fear of widespread protests.
Observers assume that Khan, who was recently criticized for the poor economic situation and massively rising prices in the country, will lose the vote and have to vacate his post early. Several members of his own party, Tehreek-e Insaf (PTI), could vote against him.
Khan said in a televised address on Friday that he was disappointed but would accept the verdict. Again he repeated the accusation that the US had conspired against him and his government. “I will not accept Pakistan having a government imposed from the outside,” Khan said. However, he did not provide any evidence for this. The prime minister called for protests.
The alliance of opposition politicians driving the no-confidence vote accused him of poor governance and incompetence on economic issues. Most recently, the prices for food, petrol or gas in the South Asian nuclear power with around 220 million inhabitants had risen massively. Khan only has a slim majority in parliament.
The former cricket star came to power in the 2018 general election. These were overshadowed by allegations that the powerful military had manipulated the vote in its favour. He had promised to fight corruption rigorously and establish an Islamic welfare state. Its popularity fell mainly as a result of massive economic problems. After several disagreements, the military is said to have withdrawn its support.