Pakistan PM Imran Khan ousted in no-trust vote: What happened so far and what will happen next
India Today
Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan was ousted from power on Sunday when he lost a vote of confidence in Parliament. Here's a rundown of how the development came about, and what is going to happen next.
After days of high political drama, Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan was ousted from power on Sunday when he lost a vote of confidence in Parliament, a long way off from completing his five-year term.
Sunday's vote followed multiple adjournments in the chamber, called due to lengthy speeches by members of Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, who said there was a “foreign conspiracy” to oust the cricket star-turned-politician.
The no-trust vote was mandated after Pakistan's Supreme Court on Thursday unanimously struck down the ruling by Deputy Speaker Qasim Suri on the rejection of the no-confidence motion against Imran Khan.
The National Assembly convened for the no-trust motion at 10.30 am (Pakistan time) on Saturday but the proceedings were delayed multiple times. The voting began at 11.58 pm on Saturday and continued past midnight.
Moments before the voting started, Speaker Asad Qaiser and Deputy Speaker Qasim Suri tendered their resignation. Opposition party leader Ayaz Sadiq was asked to take over the assembly session.
While Imran Khan chose to remain absent during the vote, his party lawmakers staged a walkout.
Opposition parties, whose ranks were strengthened by defections from the ruling PTI-led coalition, were able to secure 174 votes in the 342-member House in support of the no-confidence motion, making it a majority vote.
