Imran Khan loses no-trust vote, ousted as Pakistan PM
Islamabad (Pakistan), April 10: Beleaguered Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan lost the trust vote in the National Assembly after high political drama in which the Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly resigned from their posts after strong demands by the opposition for completing the vote ordered by the Supreme Court.
Despite many attempts to halt the no-confidence motion in the National Assembly, the vote took place after midnight, and 174 members of the 342-member House voted in favour of the motion, with members of the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) absent. According to reports, no Pakistani Prime Minister has ever completed the full five-year tenure.
"174 members have recorded their votes in favour of the resolution. Consequently, the resolution of no-confidence against Imran Khan, Prime Minister of Pakistan has been passed by a majority of the National Assembly," informed PML-N's Ayaz Sadiq, who chaired the session.
Further, Pakistan National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser and Deputy Speaker Qasim Suri tendered their resignations in the midst of a high political drama.
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Imran Khan tried to stop a no-confidence motion last week by dissolving the lower house of parliament, but Pakistan's top court ordered the vote must be held by Saturday.
The Pakistani National Assembly had a total of 342 members, with 172 representing the majority. The PTI-led coalition has 179 members, with Imran Khan's PTI having 155 members and four key allies, MQM-P, Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q), Balochistan Awami Party (BAP) and Grand Democratic Alliance (GDA) having seven, five, five and three members respectively.
On March 8, the opposition party moved a no-trust motion against the Prime Minister.
Imran Khan suffered a major setback when the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) lost a key ally Muttahida Qaumi Movement Pakistan (MQM-P). The MQM said that it had reached an agreement with the opposition Pakistan People's Party (PPP) and would support the no-trust vote.
The 22nd Pakistani Prime Minister has fallen out of favour with the Pakistani Army, which is notorious for calling the shots in the country's political battle. After former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif fell out of favour with the Army's top brass, Pakistan's sole World Cup-winning cricket captain was thrust into the spotlight.
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-PTC News
