174 members in the 342-seat National Assembly voted against Khan. Voting took place following high political drama. The crucial session was adjourned four times before resuming post midnight
File image of Imran Khan. AP
The Imran Khan-led Pakistan government was ousted after power after it lost a no-confidence motion post midnight on Sunday.
While no premier in Pakistan’s history has been able to complete a full five-year term in office, Khan has become the first PM to be ousted through a no-confidence motion.
174 members in the 342-seat National Assembly voted against him. The majority mark in the House in 172.
Opposition celebrates
PML-N leader Shehbaz Sharif who is tipped to become the next PM said that Pakistan has been freed from a “serious crisis” while Maryam Nawaz Sharif said that Khan’s “arrogance led to his downfall.”
PPP leader Bilawal Bhutto Zardari shared a photo of his mother former PM Benazir Bhutto showing a victory sign.
Midnight vote started after high political drama
The Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser and Deputy Speaker Qasim Suri resigned just minutes before the session resumed, saying that they don’t want to be part of a ‘foreign conspiracy’ to topple the government.
The session was then chaired by PML-N leader Ayaz Sadiq, Geo News reported.
A few minutes before the clock struck 12, Chief Justice of Pakistan Umra Ata Bandial ordered the opening of the Supreme Court as the former National Assembly Speaker Qaiser refused to allow voting on the no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Imran Khan, ARY News reported.
The apex court said that it would take legal action if the voting is not held.
This came after Opposition leaders urged the SC to intervene as the Pakistan National Assembly session has been adjourned for the fourth time today after Speaker Asad Qaiser refused to conduct voting on the no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Imran Khan, local media reported.
According to Geo News, Qaiser said that he has had a relationship of 30 years with Imran Khan and he can’t end that, even if it meant contempt of court.’ On Thursday, the top court had set aside the National Assembly deputy speaker’s ruling dismissing a no-confidence motion against Khan on 3 April.
It also ordered that a no-trust vote take place against the PM on 9 April.
Failure to do so would have amounted to ‘contempt of court.’
The Opposition which got increasingly frustrated with the delays accused the speaker of colluding with Khan in a bid to delay the no-confidence motion.
Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said that Khan’s decision to summon his cabinet showed that there was “clearly no intention to hold voting” on the confidence motion.
Maryam Nawaz Sharif had urged the Supreme Court to take suo moto cognizance of the “brazen violation of the court order” by Khan and the Assembly Speaker and deputy Speaker.
In a final attempt to save his chair, Khan had summoned his cabinet to his residence after his government filed a review petition challenging the Supreme Court verdict that ordered today’s no-trust vote.
Meanwhile, a petition to restrain Khan from replacing Army chief General Qamar Jawed Bajwa was filed in The Islamabad High Court amid fears that a martial law could be imposed, Dawn reported.
What happened in the Assembly
The Assembly met on 9 April to vote on the no-confidence motion against Khan, on the directives of the top court.
However, the voting was delayed four times on account of namaaz and iftar. The session resumed only after midnight on Sunday.
‘Foreign threat letter’
Earlier in the day during the Assembly session, former foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said that the US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan had called his Pakistani counterpart and advised him against travelling to Russia.
“Where in the world does any sovereign state gets direction from other countries and which independent country accepts such directions?” Geo News quoted him as saying.
Earlier, Imran Khan had said that he received a “threat letter” which proved the involvement of a foreign hand behind the move to oust him from power. Khan visited Moscow on 24 February- the day Russia invaded neighbouring Ukraine.
No-trust vote against Khan on 3 April
On 3 April, the joint Opposition tabled a no-confidence motion against Imran Khan in the 342-member National Assembly, saying that his government was responsible for the “current economic crisis in the country.” Several lawmakers of the ruling PTI switched camps ahead of the voting day, leaving Khan with little support to survive the motion.
However, on D-Day, the deputy speaker of Assembly Qasim Khan Suri dismissed the motion against Khan who came to power in 2018.
Opposition leaders then moved the apex court which later gave a verdict in their favour.
A five-judge bench on Thursday unanimously voted against the dissolution of the National Assembly by President Arif Alvi at the behest of Khan who called for early polls.
It noted that by asking the president to do so PM Imran Khan violated Article 58 of the Constitution.
Under Article 58, the National Assembly cannot be dissolved if there is a no-trust vote against the government, NDTV reported.
Politics in Pakistan is heavily dominated by the army and has remained mostly unstable.
With inputs from agencies
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