Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan to Exit After Losing No-Confidence Vote
Posted on 04/10/2022
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan (Imran Ahmed Khan Niazi) (age 69), a cricket star turned politician, has been deposed by a no-confidence vote the National Assembly (parliament). This is days after he blocked a similar attempt. Pakistan’s Supreme Court ruled Imran Khan acted unconstitutionally in previously blocking the process and dissolving parliament. The no-confidence motion, which required 172 votes in the 342-seat parliament to pass, was supported by 174 politicians. Imran Khan earlier tried to sidestep the no-confidence vote by dissolving parliament and calling early elections, but a Supreme Court ruling ordered the vote to go ahead. Khan was not present in the lower house at the time of voting. His party lawmakers staged a walkout.
Imran Khan alleged the opposition colluded with the United States to unseat him. Three parties and the opposition formed an alliance in 2020 and have engaged in rallies and have tried to have Khan ousted from power since.
Imran Khan became Pakistan’s first prime minister in its history to be overthrown through a vote of no confidence, the only constitutional way to remove the head of government in Pakistan.
Shehbaz Sharif, the Leader of the Opposition, is being considered a frontrunner to be Pakistan’s next prime minister.
Khan was a popular cricket star and he was elected prime minister in 2018 on a reform and anti-corruption platform.