Imran Khan asked his legal team to take him out of the Attock jail which is full of insects and flies. The former Pakistan prime minister told his lawyer that he does not want to remain behind the bars.
This is the second time in three months that Imran Khan has been arrested.
Former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan, who is in jail after being convicted in the Toshakhana corruption case, told his lawyers to take him out of Attock prison. Khan’s lawyers said that the 70-year-old cricketer-turned-politician does not want to remain in a cell that is infested with flies during the day and insects at night.
On Monday, Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party petitioned the Islamabad High Court to shift the party chief from the Attock jail in Punjab province to Rawalpindi’s high-security Adiala prison. The petition also requested the High Court to transfer him to a prison where A-class facilities are available, adding that his family, lawyers and physician Dr Faisal Sultan should be allowed to meet him.
According to sources in the Attock jail, Khan told his lawyer during a meeting at a jail to “take him out”. “I don’t want to remain in jail, take me out of here,” the prison officials quoted Khan as saying.
Khan’s counsel Naeem Haider Panjotha, who met the former Pakistan prime minister in Jail jail, said he was being kept in “distressing” conditions” and provided “C-Class jail facilities”.
The US State Department in a meeting on March 7, 2022 encouraged the Pakistani government to remove Imran Khan as the country’s Prime Minister over his neutrality in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, US-based news outlet The Intercept reported citing a classified Pakistani government document.
The meeting between the Pakistani ambassador to the US and two US State Department officials has been a matter of intense scrutiny, controversy, and speculation in Pakistan over the past year and a half, as the former Pakistan PM and his military and civilian opponents struggled for power.
The political struggle further escalated on August 5 when Khan was sentenced to three years in prison on corruption charges, according to The Intercept report. However, Khan’s supporters have denied the charges, terming them baseless. The decision announced by the court also blocks Khan from contesting polls expected in Pakistan later this year.
One month after the meeting with US officials was revealed in the Pakistan government’s document, a no-confidence vote was held in Parliament, resulting in Khan’s ouster from power. The vote in the Pakistani parliament was believed to have the support of Pakistan’s army.
The vote is believed to have been organised with the backing of Pakistan’s powerful military. Since his ouster, Khan and his supporters have been involved in a struggle with the army and its civilian allies, whom the former Pakistan PM engineered his removal from power at the request of the US.
In March last year, Pakistan’s then-Prime Minister Imran Kha raised “foreign conspiracy” charge. Addressing the nation amid his coalition government seemingly losing the majority after losing the support of some allies, Khan said a foreign power sent a message that he needs “to be removed” or Pakistan will face consequences.
“A foreign nation sent a message to us (Pakistan) that Imran Khan needs to be removed else Pakistan will suffer consequences,” he said. Referring to “foreign conspiracy letter,” he said its language “was threatening and arrogant”.
On March 27, Khan had waved the “letter” at a public rally saying a foreign conspiracy was afoot to oust him. He had sought to link the opposition’s no-confidence motion with a “foreign-funded” move to topple his government.
The text of the Pakistani cable, known as “cypher”, produced from the meeting by the ambassador and transmitted to Pakistan has revealed the methods used by the US State Department in its push against Khan, promising warmer ties with Islamabad if Khan was removed, and isolation if he was not, The Intercept reported.
The document, titled ‘Secret’, includes an account of the meeting between US State Department officials, including Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs Donald Lu and Asad Majeed Khan, who was then-Pakistan’s ambassador to the US. An anonymous source in the Pakistani military has provided the document to The Intercept.
The cable includes the carrots and sticks used by the US State Department in its push against then-Pakistan PM Imran Khan. The dynamics of the Pakistan-US ties mentioned in the cable were subsequently borne out by events, according to The Intercept report. In the cable, the US has raised objections to the foreign policy of Imran Khan over the Russia-Ukraine conflict. The stance taken by Imran Khan over Ukraine was quickly reversed post his removal from office.
The diplomatic meeting between US State Department officials and the Pakistani government took place two weeks after the conflict between Russia and Ukraine started, as Khan was heading to Moscow. Pakistani Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan’s visit to Russia angered the US.
On March 2, 2022, just days before the meeting, Lu had been questioned at a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing over the neutral stance taken by Pakistan and other nations on the Ukraine conflict. Responding to the question from Senator Chris Van Hollen, Lu said, “Prime Minister Khan has recently visited Moscow, and so I think we are trying to figure out how to engage specifically with the Prime Minister following that decision,” The Intercept reported.
A day before the meeting, Khan, addressing a rally, said, “Are we your slaves?” He asked, “What do you think of us? That we are your slaves and that we will do whatever you ask of us?” In his remarks, then-Pakistan PM said, “We are friends of Russia, and we are also friends of the United States. We are friends of China and Europe. We are not part of any alliance.”
The former prime minister Imran Khan was sentenced to three years imprisonment on Saturday.
Former Prime Minister Imran Khan was barred from politics for five years on Tuesday by Pakistan’s election commission after his conviction in Toshakhana corruption case, the local media reported.
Under Pakistani law, a convicted person cannot run for any public office for a period defined by the ECP, which could be up to a maximum of five years staring from the conviction date.
The former prime minister was sentenced to three years imprisonment on Saturday. He was arrested at his Lahore house and taken to a prison near Islamabad.
Imran Khan was tried on charges of unlawfully selling state gifts during his tenure from 2018 to 2022.
Khan’s legal team has filed an appeal seeking to set aside the guilty verdictwhich Islamabad High Court will take up on Wednesday.
The petition describes the conviction as “without lawful authority, tainted with bias”, reported Reuters.
The petition said the lower court had rejected a list of witnesses for the defence a day before reaching its verdict, calling this a “gross travesty of justice, and a slap in the face of due process and fair trial”.
Meanwhile, ARY News has reported that the Supreme Court of Pakistan will resume the hearing of the murder case of a Senior Supreme Court lawyer Abdul Razzaq Shar against Pakistan Imran Khan on Wednesday.
A three-member bench headed by Justice Yahya Afridi will resume the hearing. ANI reported citing ARY News.
Moreover, the former prime has submitted the additional to the Supreme Court, reported ARY News.
During the last hearing of the case, the Supreme Court bench summoned the PTI chairman Imran Khan to appear before it on August 9.
Almost three days before the completion of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif-led government, he will dissolve the Parliament on Wednesday– paving a path for the interim setup and much-awaited and touted elections.
PM Shehbaz, while speaking at an event on Tuesday, confirmed that he would visit the President and hand over a summary for the dissolution of the National Assembly.
“Tomorrow [Wednesday] my government completes its term and [after] meeting constitutional norms, we will hand over the reins to the interim set-up,” Pakistani English daily Dawn quoted the premier as saying during an event.
Notably, the caretaker government is appointed in Pakistan after the outgoing Prime Minister and the leader of the Opposition give the nod for it. If they fail to agree on a name, the Prime Minister and the Opposition leader will forward their names to a bipartisan committee to zero in on one name within a given time period.
If the committee also fails, the Election Commission of Pakistan receives the same names and chooses one of them to serve as Prime Minister. The caretaker Prime Minister appoints a Cabinet to manage the government’s activities, and he leaves office as soon as the newly elected Prime Minister takes the oath of office.
Imran won’t be able to fight elections until 2028
Earlier on Tuesday, Pakistan’s top electoral watchdog disqualified former Prime Minister Imran Khan for five years after his conviction and arrest in the Toshakhana case. In a notification, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) said that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman was disqualified after being found guilty of corrupt practices and his subsequent sentencing for three years, Geo News reported.
“As a consequence, Mr Imran Ahmed Khan Niazi has become disqualified under Article 63(1)(h) of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan read with Section 232 of the Elections Act,2017,” the notification said.
The ex-cricketer denies any wrongdoing and has called on supporters to “stand up for your country”.
Imran Khan, Pakistan’s former prime minister, has called for protests after he was sentenced to three years in prison for illegally selling state gifts.
Police were seen surrounding his home in the eastern city of Lahore on Saturday after the verdict was handed down.
The 70-year-old former cricketer has been arrested after he was sentenced for unlawfully selling state gifts while he was prime minister between 2018 and 2022 following an inquiry conducted by the election commission.
In a video message he urged people to peacefully protest until they get their rights, namely a government of their choice through voting and “not the one like today’s occupying power.”
He was accused of misusing his position to buy and sell gifts received during visits abroad worth more than 140 million Pakistani rupees ($635,000).
Legal experts say the conviction could end Imran Khan’s chances of taking part in national elections
“Police have arrested Imran Khan from his residence,” Mr Khan’s lawyer Intezar Panjotha said. “We are filing a
petition against the decision in (the) high court.”
Lahore’s Police Chief Bilal Siddique Kamiana confirmed the arrest and said Mr Khan was being transferred to the capital, Islamabad.
Mr Khan said his arrest was “expected” in a pre-recorded video statement posted on Twitter.
“People of Pakistan, when this video reaches you, they will have arrested me and I’ll be in jail,” he said.
“I have one request and an appeal, that you should not sit quietly at home.
“This sacrifice I’m doing is not for myself, I’m doing it for my country and for you and for your kids’ futures. If you’re not going to stand up for your country, you will be servants, and there no such a life for servants.”
Mr Khan has denied any wrongdoing and his political party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) said in a statement another appeal has already been filed to the country’s supreme court.
Legal experts say the conviction could end his chances of taking part in the national elections that have to be held before November.
The UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office said it is monitoring the situation in Pakistan closely.
Chairman Imran Khan’s message:
My arrest was expected & I recorded this message before my arrest.
It is one more step in fulfilling London Plan but I want my party workers to remain peaceful, steadfast and strong.
Pakistan’s information minister Maryam Aurangzeb denied Khan’s arrest was linked to the upcoming elections and said he had been “proven guilty of illegal practices, corruption, concealing assets and wrongly declaring wealth in tax returns.”
She insisted the conviction followed a full investigation and proper legal proceedings, during which he had every opportunity to defend himself.
“Instead Imran Khan used the time to delay the court proceedings and went back and forth to the high court and supreme court to halt this case,” she said.
Since he was ousted from power in a no-confidence vote in April last year, Mr Khan has been hit with more than 150 legal cases, including allegations of corruption, terrorism, and inciting violence over deadly protests that saw his followers attack government and military property across the country in May.
The action was sparked by the popular opposition leader’s arrest on 9 May on corruption charges.
Imran Khan’s anti-army narrative has become his albatross. And his Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) party is disintegrating with the establishment, a euphemism for the powerful Army leadership, in overdrive to destroy the former prime minister’s support base ahead of polls.
The resignations–forced or otherwise– of his hawkish confidantes like Shireen Mazari and Fawad Chaudhry have kindled the debate on the Minus Imran formula, Delhi-based senior journalist and commentator, Malladi Rama Rao writes.
The Shehbaz Sharif government and the Army have mounted an orchestrated campaign to tarnish the image of Imran Khan.
The result of this came out in the form of a flood of allegations of serious financial improprieties by him and also morally unacceptable habits in the Islamic nation. The Federal Health Minister has gone to the town accusing Imran Khan of consuming alcohol and drugs and said as a result of this habit he seems to have lost his ‘mental balance’.
The targeted tirade has clearly shaken the erstwhile playboy. He, however, continues to put on a brave face. He has slapped a defamation case against the Health Minister. And intensified his battle against the Army and the Nawaz- Zardari clique. But luck appears to be deserting him, Rao writes.
In a way, Imran Khan has to blame himself for the turn of events. The Army had propelled him to political eminence but he tried to become their nemesis. He has alleged that some top Generals want him assassinated, but has tweaked his strategy of squarely blaming the Army for his ouster through a no-confidence vote in parliament in April 2022. His ‘illegal’ arrest was set aside by the higher judiciary but that does not preclude another chance of sending him to prison–this time for a period long enough to exclude his participation in the election process whenever it begins.
As the sedate Karachi daily, Dawn, observed editorially, Imran finds himself ‘losing a ruthless, one-sided war of attrition’. This is a familiar story for politicians of all hues in Pakistan ever since the country was carved out of British India in 1947 as a home for the Muslims. No political party or leader can afford to cross the red line and take on the country’s all-powerful establishment.
Ironically, Imran Khan is desperate to receive US support in his struggle against the powers that be at home. For weeks he went around accusing the US of hatching a conspiracy to throw him out of power because of his ‘independent’ policies and clubbed the US with India as countries wanting destruction of the Islamic nation.
According to Malladi Rama Rao, the U-turn makes him look weak and vulnerable too. He has hired an expensive lobbyist in the US to get a ‘good word’ from influential American lawmakers.
The Biden administration is in a fix. It can openly support Imran only if it wants a sudden setback to its efforts to renew ties with Islamabad- Rawalpindi. But Washington cannot come to the rescue of the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) government either as it handles the maelstrom created by Imran Khan’s populist politics backed by a majority of the population.
The rich ‘brotherly’ friends in the Muslim world also face a dilemma. They cannot put all their eggs in one basket. Because all the combatants in Pakistan–the government, the Army, the judiciary– are fellow Muslims.
‘All-weather friend’ China is also in a fix. It stands the risk of alienating a large section of Pakistanis if it sides with the ruling coalition, which has become quite unpopular.
As it is, Pakistan has already created some problems by failing to curb anger towards China in the restive Balochistan province where many feel that the projects being executed under the multi-billion CPEC (China-Pakistan Economic Corridor) are not going to help them.
“How will the people stand when the leader himself is a jackal?” she said, while ridiculing former Prime Minister Imran Khan, who was removed from office via a vote of no confidence in April last year.
“How will the people stand when the leader himself is a jackal?” Maryam Nawaz said.
Nawaz Sharif’s daughter and Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) Senior Vice President Maryam Nawaz mocked Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf chairman Imran Khan, saying that the “game is over”, following an exodus of his party’s senior members, Pakistan-based Geo News reported.
Geo News is a Pakistani news channel.
Maryam Nawaz made the speech in Pakistan’s Vehari while addressing the PML-N’s youth convention. During her address, she talked about the incidents on May 9, the day on which Imran Khan was arrested, triggering violent protests across Pakistan.
Maryam Nawaz, while mocking Imran Khan’s party over its leaders’ mass departure, said that there were ques of those quitting the party.
The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf leaders’ exodus started when the security forces launched a crackdown against the party following the attacks on the civil and military institutions, including the General Headquarters in Rawalpindi and the Lahore Corps Commander’s House (Jinnah House), according to Geo News.
Over 70 lawyers and leaders from the party have parted ways with the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf so for following the May 9 mayhem.
“How will the people stand when the leader himself is a jackal?” she said, while ridiculing former Prime Minister Imran Khan, who was removed from office via a vote of no confidence in April last year.
On Thursday several media outlets reported that Imran Khan, his wife Bushra Bibi and other leaders and former assembly members of his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party were reportedly barred from leaving the country.
Pakistan’s former Prime Minister Imran Khan today thanked the country’s government for putting him on a ‘no-fly list’ stating that he does not plan to go overseas as he does not have any property or businesses abroad and does not hold even a bank account outside the country.
“I want to thank the government for putting my name on the ECL (Exit Control List) as I have no plans to travel abroad, because I neither have any properties or businesses abroad nor even a bank account outside the country. If and when I do get an opportunity for a holiday, it will be in our northern mountains, my favourite place on earth,” Imran Khan tweeted.
On Thursday several media outlets reported that Mr Khan, his wife Bushra Bibi and other leaders and former assembly members of his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party were reportedly barred from leaving the country.
This statement came after various media reported citing sources that Imran Khan would be added to the no-fly list.
“IK (Imran Khan) added in No Fly List,” The Pakistan Daily tweeted quoting sources. The Pakistan Daily is a digital news portal in Pakistan mainly reporting about the political updates of Pakistan. However, there has been no official confirmation of Imran Khan being added to the no-fly list.
This comes a day after Pakistan Defence Minister Khawaja Asif said that the government is considering imposing a ban on the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) over the incidents that took place on May 9, Dawn reported.
Khan also reminded the military establishment that it should keep in mind that it can no longer be able to force the nation to accept “corrupt rulers”.
Former Pakistan Prime Minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan. (ANI)
The Army chief is the most powerful person in Pakistan’s politics and everyone follows his decisions, ousted prime minister Imran Khan has said, slamming the military establishment for siding with the country’s “corrupt mafias” to ensure that he should not return to power.
Addressing Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party supporters from his Zaman Park residence here on Friday evening, Khan urged the people to stand with the Supreme Court at the time when the “imported government” is trying to bring it down.
“The Army chief is the most powerful person in Pakistan’s politics. All follow his decisions. The military establishment is siding with the corrupt mafia – Sharifs and Zardaris – only to ensure that I must not return to power,” he said.
The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz-led coalition government has imposed an “undeclared ban” on the broadcast of the PTI chief’s speeches by the country’s electronic media.
Expressing his serious concerns over the division in the country’s Supreme Court, Khan said it will be a great tragedy for the country.
“Division in the Supreme Court will be a great tragedy. I appeal to the nation to stand with the apex court at a time when this imported government is making an all-out effort to bring it disrepute.
“Let me tell you… democracy in Pakistan is now hanging by a thread called Supreme Court and all those, who want democracy in the country, should stand with it,” the 70-year-old cricketer-turned-politician said.
The PTI chief said if the government does not stop conspiring against the apex court and continues defying the implementation of its decision to hold elections in Punjab on May 14, the nation must get ready to take to the streets after Eid.
Although his Russia tour was the first visit by a Pakistani premier to Moscow in the past 23 years, Khan could not broker any deal that could give relief to the cash-strapped country.
Pakistan’s former PM Imran Khan and his Indian PM Narendra Modi.
Pakistan economic crisis: As Pakistan reeling under the worst-ever economic crisis, former Prime Minister Imran Khan lamented his country could also purchase Russian crude oil at a discounted rate that India enjoys despite the ongoing Ukraine war.
While addressing the countrymen in a video message, Khan claimed he had discussed the purchase of oil at a discounted rate when he met Russian President Vladimir Putin just days before the latter announced a full-fledged war against neighbouring Ukraine.
Although his Russia tour was the first visit by a Pakistani premier to Moscow in the past 23 years, Khan could not broker any deal that could give relief to the cash-strapped country.
“We wanted to get cheap Russian crude oil just like India but that could not happen. Unfortunately, my government fell due to a no-confidence motion just four weeks after I returned to Moscow,” Khan said. Notably, his claims were not confirmed by any of the Russian media outlets when he visited Moscow last year.
Khan has a habit of praising India
Interestingly, this was not the first time when Khan acknowledged India’s achievements in terms of growing its economy and purchasing Russian oil despite Western pressure.
“No other leader except Nawaz in the world has properties worth billions. Tell me about one country whose Premier or leader has billions worth of properties outside the country. Even in our neighbouring country, how many properties does PM Modi has outside India?” he had said at a public gathering in September.
Russian oil export nearly 22-fold
It is worth noting that India is the world’s third-largest oil-consuming and importing nation. It imports 85 per cent of its crude oil needs. Ever since the war between Russia and its neighbouring nation started last year, the West and Europe imposed stringent sanctions on its energy. This resulted in Russia’s offering more discounts to its oldest ally, India.
Recently, a top Russian official claimed it supplied crude oil to India nearly 22-fold ever since the West imposed sanctions. According to multiple state news agencies, the Russian Deputy Prime Minister said that the maximum energy was diverted to “friendly nations” after the United States and the European Union imposed back-to-back sanctions on Russian energy.
Clashes between the police and PTI supporters forced the Islamabad Court to adjourn the hearing in the Toshakhan case to March 30.
A Pakistan court on Saturday adjourned the hearing in the Toshakhan case till March 30 following the massive protests and violent clashes between the PTI supporters, workers and the police outside former PM Imran Khan’s residence in Lahore.
The police have allegedly recovered A-47 assault rifles and bullets at the PTI chief’s house where Imran Khan has holed up since he failed to appear before the court at an earlier hearing this week.
Khan and the party’s supporters have been clashing with the police over the last couple of days. The cops have so far arrested over 60 people after storming Khan’s residence in his absence.
“The assault on my house today was first of all a contempt of court. We had agreed that an SP with one of our people would implement a search warrant bec we knew otherwise they would plant stuff on their own, which they did. Under what law did they break the gate, pull down trees,” the former Pakistan cricket captain tweeted.
The assault on my house today was first of all a contempt of court. We had agreed that an SP with one of our people would implement a search warrant bec we knew otherwise they would plant stuff on their own, which they did. Under what law did they break the gate, pull down trees pic.twitter.com/110uTeIlce
Imran Khan’s car met with an accident earlier on Saturday as his convoy was heading towards Islamabad to attend the court hearing in the Toshakhan case.
As per reports, a vehicle overturned when the PTI chairman Imran Khan was on his way to appear before the court in Toshakhana case.
Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan, the 69-year-old former cricketer, is heading a coalition government in Pakistan. On March 8, the Opposition parties submitted a no-confidence motion before the National Assembly Secretariat, alleging that the government was responsible for the economic crisis and the spiralling inflation in the country.
Islamabad: Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Sunday attacked the opposition parties at a power show in Islamabad ahead of the no-confidence vote and said that “three rats” are looting the country for the last 30 years.
The prime minister addressed the rally of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Party (PTI) titled ‘Amr Bil Maroof’ (enjoin the good) at Parade Ground in Islamabad.
In the rally, Khan lauded PTI lawmakers for refusing the opposition’s offers to bribe them in return for their votes in the crucial no-confidence motion. “I am proud of you,” he said.
The 69-year-old former cricketer is heading a coalition government in Pakistan. On March 8, the Opposition parties submitted a no-confidence motion before the National Assembly Secretariat, alleging that the government was responsible for the economic crisis and the spiralling inflation in the country.
As the opposition geared up for a no-trust vote in the National Assembly to oust his government, Khan organised the show of strength in Islamabad.
Here are the top quotes from the power show:
Three ‘rats’ looting Pakistan
“These three rats are looting the country for the last 30 years. For the last 30 years, they jointly sucked the blood of the country. They have accumulated millions of dollars worth of property outside the country and have offshore accounts. All this drama is happening for the sake of NRO (National Reconciliation Ordinance).”
‘…I will defeat them’
“Three rats are trying to hunt me down but what they don’t know is that they will be hunted down instead… I will defeat them.”
Over 50 of the federal and provincial ministers were not seen in the public space, The Express Tribune reported. Out of those missing ministers, 25 were federal and provincial advisers and special assistants, while four of them are the ministers of the state, four are advisors and 19 are the special assistants.
Islamabad: As the no-confidence motion against Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan comes closer, at least 50 ministers belonging to the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf are not being seen in public, Pak media reported.
Over 50 of the federal and provincial ministers were not seen in the public space, The Express Tribune reported.
Out of those missing ministers, 25 were federal and provincial advisers and special assistants, while four of them are the ministers of the state, four are advisors and 19 are the special assistants, according to The Express Tribune citing sources.
However, at the federal level, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan still enjoys the support of its ministers. Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry, Energy Minister Hammad Azhar, Minister of Defence Pervez Khattak and Interior Minister Sheikh Rasheed are among those ministers who continue to defend the Pakistani PM.
Meanwhile, after the no-confidence motion against Khan was adjourned to March 28, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf has intensified its efforts to woo its allies.
The comment came during a speech in which the Pakistan Prime Minister listed his government’s achievements as he faces the opposition’s no-confidence motion against him. The vote will take place on March 25.
About 24 lawmakers from Imran Khan’s own party are ready to part ways.
Karachi:
Nearly two dozen disgruntled lawmakers from Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan’s ruling party have openly threatened to vote against him on the no-confidence motion tabled in Parliament by the Opposition, in a fresh blow to the embattled premier struggling to cling to power.
Around 100 lawmakers from the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) submitted a no-confidence motion before the National Assembly Secretariat on March 8, alleging that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf government led by Khan was responsible for the economic crisis and the spiralling inflation in the country.
The National Assembly session for the move is expected to be convened on March 21 and the voting is likely to be held on March 28.
After the no-trust move was submitted by the joint opposition, some of the partners in the government began to dither but the real shocker for Khan came on Thursday when it emerged that about 24 lawmakers from his own party were ready to part ways to join the push to topple his government.
Raja Riaz, one of the lawmakers, told Geo News that Khan had failed to control inflation while another lawmaker Noor Alam Khan told Samaa News that his multiple grievances were not addressed by the government.
