No Prime Minister in Pakistan has ever seen out a full term.
New Delhi:
Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan is all set to address the nation today, ahead of a no-confidence vote against him which he is likely to lose. After a dramatic week where Mr Khan has already dodged a no-confidence vote, he may resign to save face.
Here's your 10-point guide to this big story:
- The Supreme Court on Thursday overturned a move by PM Khan to block a parliamentary vote seeking to oust him. The dismissal of the no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Imran Khan was "unconstitutional", the Pakistan Supreme Court said.
- The deputy speaker had blocked a no-confidence motion against him and the President, seen as the PM's loyalist, dissolved the parliament and ordered fresh elections.
- The court reconstituted the national assembly and ordered the Speaker to call a session. The no-confidence vote against Prime Minister Imran Khan will now be held on Saturday at 10 am.
- There's widespread speculation that Imran Khan may resign rather than face the indignity of being voted out -- or that the former international cricket star might pull off another surprise.
- If Mr Khan loses, he will be the first Prime Minister to be removed through a no-trust vote. The opposition could then nominate its own Prime Minister and hold power until August 2023, by which date fresh elections have to be held.
- Two other Prime Ministers against whom a no-confidence motion was called, resigned before the vote. But Mr Khan had refused to step down, insisting that he would "play till the last ball".
- Mr Khan's interior minister gave a hint of what might come, telling reporters he had long pressed for PTI (Mr Khan's party) lawmakers and coalition partners to quit the assembly en-masse. "For three months I was asking them to collectively resign... I am saying the same, we should resign in unison," said Sheikh Rashid Ahmad.
- The constitutional crisis has threatened economic and social stability in the nuclear-armed nation of 220 million people, with its currency hitting all-time lows earlier on Thursday and foreign exchange reserves tumbling.
- Mr Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party effectively lost the majority in the assembly earlier this month when a key coalition partner said its seven lawmakers would vote with the opposition. More than a dozen lawmakers from the ruling party also indicated that they would cross the floor. The opposition says it has more than 172 votes in the 342-seat assembly, which needs a quarter of members present for a quorum.
- Pakistan has been wracked by political crises for much of its 75-year existence, and no Prime Minister has ever seen out a full term. Mr Khan had claimed that it was a "conspiracy" against his government that was engineered by the US because he would not take the side of the US and Europe on global issues against Russia and China.
