first in history
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan ousted in a no-confidence vote
The opposition accused Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan of economic mismanagement and a devastating foreign policy
© Angela Weiss / AFP
Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan has been overthrown in a no-confidence vote. For the first time in Pakistan’s history, a head of government has been removed by such a procedure. His successor will be determined on Monday.
Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan has been overthrown by a vote of no confidence in Parliament. On Sunday night, 174 MPs voted in favor of the opposition’s motion, as the incumbent speaker of the parliament, Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, announced. Khan is the first prime minister in Pakistan’s history to be ousted by a no-confidence vote. His successor will be determined on Monday, and the leader of the opposition Muslim-conservative PML-N, Shehbaz Sharif, is considered the most promising candidate.
The 69-year-old Khan tried last Sunday to stop the vote of no confidence against him by dissolving parliament and initiating new elections. However, the Supreme Court on Thursday ruled it unconstitutional and ordered the National Assembly to hold the vote of no confidence at its next session.
Imran Khan was absent from the meeting
The session started on Saturday morning and was twice adjourned after heated debates between Khan supporters and the opposition. Just before the midnight deadline set by the judges, the Speaker of Parliament – a confidant of Khan’s – resigned before MPs finally voted on the motion of no confidence, led by a substitute leader.
Khan, who was absent from the session, has lost a majority in the 342-seat National Assembly since a coalition partner left his government and several MPs from his party turned their backs on him. The opposition would have needed 172 votes to overthrow him. In the end, 174 MPs voted in favor of the opposition’s motion, as the incumbent speaker of Parliament Sadiq announced.
Sharif is considered a possible successor to Khan
The successor will be determined on Monday. The head of the former ruling Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) party, Sharif, is considered the favorite for the post. “We will put balm on the wounds of this nation,” he declared after the vote.
Sharif is the younger brother of three-time Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, who was sacked in 2017 on corruption charges and then jailed before being released two years later on health grounds. The 70-year-old Shehbaz Sharif can also look back on a long political career: for many years he was head of government in the province of Punjab, the power base of the Sharif family.
Opposition supporters celebrated in the streets
As a young man, he inherited part of the family steel business and was first elected to a provincial office in 1988. During his tenure as Punjab’s prime minister, he pushed ahead with a number of major infrastructure projects, including Pakistan’s first metro bus route.
In Islamabad, supporters of the opposition celebrated on the streets after the vote of no confidence in Khan. During a motorcade through the capital, they waved Pakistani flags and the flags of their parties. The security forces, who were on site in large numbers, reported no incidents.
Khan, a former cricket star, had recently been under massive pressure, with the opposition accusing him of economic mismanagement and a devastating foreign policy. Khan, in turn, accused the opposition of being in cahoots with “foreign powers” and of wanting to overthrow him with US help. The US government has dismissed Khan’s allegations.