Trouble mounts for Pakistan PM Imran Khan as several MPs defect ahead of no-confidence vote
India Today
Without the coalition partners and the dissidents, Pakistan PM Imran Khan's party, which has 155 seats in the lower house, would fall short of the 172 needed to retain power.
Several lawmakers from Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan's ruling party withdrew their support for him on Thursday ahead of a no-confidence vote, stoking more uncertainty over whether the former cricketer can hang on to power.
The development came a day after a key ally said Khan was in danger of losing his coalition partners, flagging a "tilt" by his partners in government towards their opponents.
The opposition blames Khan for mismanaging the country, economy and foreign policy. No Pakistani prime minister has ever completed his term in office.
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The threat of political turmoil in the nuclear-armed nation is growing as the opposition looks to oust Khan in a vote that could come as soon as this month after a no-confidence motion was unveiled in parliament last week.
"We have differences with the prime minister," one of his lawmakers, Raja Riaz, told local Geo News TV. "We will vote according to our conscience," he said, claiming there were more than 20 defectors.
Three more lawmakers endorsed Riaz and TV showed recorded footage of several ruling party members at an office of the opposition Pakistan People's Party (PPP) in Islamabad.
