India is keeping a wary eye on the political and economic turmoil affecting two neighbours – Pakistan and Sri Lanka – though the situation in both countries is not expected to have any immediate fallout for New Delhi, according to people aware of the developments.
A day after Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan’s surprise decision to dissolve Parliament and call early elections in order to avert a no-confidence vote that he was unlikely to survive, the Supreme Court on Monday adjourned without ruling on the legality of the premier’s actions.
A five-judge bench headed by Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial will take up several petitions from the government and opposition when it resumes hearing the matter on Tuesday. Outgoing information minister Fawad Chaudhry said Khan had proposed former chief justice Gulzar Ahmad for the post of interim prime minister to oversee the elections.
In Sri Lanka, the opposition on Monday dismissed President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s offer to join a unity government as “nonsensical” and instead demanded his resignation over worsening shortages of food, fuel and medicines. The move followed several days of public protests and the resignation on Sunday of all members of the cabinet except the president and his elder brother, Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa.
