The fate of Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan, who is facing no-confidence from the opposition, will be decided when the National Assembly sits tomorrow (Sunday). His ruling coalition lost a majority in the parliament on Wednesday, with a key ally switching allegiance to the opposition ahead of a vote of no-confidence. Thus, the leadership of Khan could see him (the former cricket star) removed and the return of political uncertainty to the nuclear-armed country.
The main ally, Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P), part of the government led by Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), announced at a joint news conference called by opposition parties in Islamabad that it had parted ways with the coalition. MQM-P has seven lawmakers and their votes are set to give the opposition a distinct advantage. Khan needs 172 votes in the 342-member Lower House to survive the opposition’s bid to topple him. According to an estimate, the combined opposition has the backing of 177 lawmakers, while the ruling party has 164 MPs in its camp. Another member of the ruling coalition, Balochistan Awami Party (BAP) with five lawmakers, also announced on Monday that it would join the opposition to vote against Khan.
So far after the independence of Pakistan in August 1947, no Pakistani Prime Minister has ever completed a full term, largely due to the volatile politics of the country that has been ruled for half its history by the powerful military.
Shehbaz Sharif, the brother of former premier Nawaz Sharif, (PML-N) praised the opposition parties for forging national unity. Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, chairman of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), also said MQM’s decision meant the PM had lost his majority. So, he said, leader of the opposition Shehbaz Sharif will soon become the prime minister of the country. In fact, the political turmoil in the country began on March 8 after the combined opposition submitted the no-trust motion against Khan along with a requisition to the speaker to summon the session within mandatory 14 days.
However, Imran Khan has vowed that “come what may”, he will not step down and face the no-confidence motion filed by the joint Opposition against him in the National Assembly, say media reports He also termed the no-trust move as a “foreign-backed conspiracy” to topple his government. What is also uncertain is if the no-confidence would vote succeeds. There is no clarity whether these two usually feuding dynastic groups have been able to narrow their differences and agree to a final decision.
