The vice-speaker of the Pakistani parliament rejected the motion of censure of the opposition parties and abruptly concluded the session on Sunday. Minutes later, Khan went on national television to say he would ask the Pakistani president to dissolve parliament and call early elections. The developments came after Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry accused the opposition of colluding with a “foreign power” to organize a “regime change”. “I ask the people to prepare for the next elections. “Thank God a conspiracy to overthrow the government has failed,” Hahn said in a statement. The opposition, which has said it will hold a sit-in protest in parliament, said the vice president’s decision to reject the no-confidence vote was illegal and vowed to appeal to Pakistan’s Supreme Court. The opposition arrived in parliament ready to vote for Khan out of power, it needed a simple majority of 172 votes in the 342-seat chamber to overthrow the prime minister. Khan’s small but key allies in the coalition, along with 17 members of his party, joined the opposition to oust him. The vote of no confidence was expected sometime after parliament convened on Sunday, but parliamentary rules allow for three to seven days of debate. The opposition had said it had the numbers for a direct vote. Giant metal containers blocked roads and entrances to the diplomatic corridor, parliament and other sensitive government facilities in the capital Islamabad. A provocative Khan called on supporters to stage demonstrations across the country to protest the vote. Kahn has accused the opposition of secretly plotting with the United States to overthrow him, saying the White House wants to leave because of its foreign policy choices that often favor China and Russia. Khan has also been a staunch opponent of Washington’s “war on terror” and Pakistan’s partnership with the United States. Khan issued a note insisting that he provided evidence that Washington had conspired with the Pakistani opposition to oust him because America wanted “me, personally, to leave; and everything will be forgiven.” A loss for Khan in the no-confidence vote would give his opponents the opportunity to form a new government and rule until the next election, which was scheduled for next year. Residents of Pakistan’s largest province, Punjab, were due to vote on Sunday for a new prime minister. Khan’s selection for the role faced a difficult challenge and his opponents claimed they had enough votes to install their own. With 60% of Pakistan’s 220 million people living in Punjab, it is considered the most powerful of the country’s four provinces. On Sunday, the government announced the dismissal of the governor of the province, whose role is largely ceremonial and chosen by the federal government, but which further deepened the political unrest in the country. Pakistan’s main opposition parties, whose ideologies cover the spectrum from left to right to radical religions, have been working to oust Khan almost since he was elected in 2018. Khan’s victory was mired in controversy amid widespread accusations that the powerful Pakistani army helped its Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party, or Justice Movement, win. Asfadir Mir, a senior fellow at the Washington-based US Institute of Peace, said the military’s involvement in the 2018 ballot box undermined Khan’s legitimacy from the start. “The movement against Imran Khan’s government is inseparable from his controversial rise to power in the 2018 election, which was manipulated by the military to push Khan across the line,” Mir said. “This really undermined the legitimacy of the election and created the conditions for the current unrest.” Pakistan’s military has ruled the country for more than half of its 75-year history, overthrowing successive democratically elected governments. For the rest of that time, he manipulated elected governments from the sidelines. The opposition also accused Khan of financial mismanagement, accusing him of high inflation. At the same time, the Khan government is credited with maintaining a $ 18 billion (14 14 billion) foreign exchange reserves account and last year set a record $ 29 billion from Pakistanis abroad. Khan’s anti-corruption reputation is credited with encouraging expatriate Pakistanis to send money home. His government has also received international praise for handling the Covid-19 crisis and enforcing “smart restrictions” instead of shutdowns across the country. As a result, several of Pakistan’s key industries, such as construction, have survived. Khan’s leadership style has often been criticized as controversial. “Khan’s biggest failure has been his insistence on remaining a party leader until the bitter end,” said Michael Kugelman, deputy program director for Asia at the Wilson Center in Washington. “He was not prepared to reach out to his opponents,” Kugelman said. “He remained stubborn and reluctant to make significant compromises. As a result, it has burned too many bridges at a time when it desperately needs the help it can get. “ Khan’s insistence that there is US involvement in efforts to overthrow him exploits a deep-rooted mistrust among many in Pakistan about US intentions, especially after 9/11, Mir said. Washington has often criticized Pakistan for doing too little to fight Islamist militants, even though thousands of Pakistanis have been killed in militant attacks and the military has lost more than 5,000 soldiers. Pakistan has been criticized for helping Taliban insurgents and has been asked to bring them to the peace table. “The fact that it has such an easy pull in Pakistan speaks to some of the damage that US foreign policy has done in the post-9/11 era in general and in Pakistan in particular,” Mir said. “There is a pool of anti-American sentiment in the country that can be easily used by politicians like Khan.”
