PM Khan gets reprieve as move to oust him blocked

Monday, 4 April 2022 03:11 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Imran Khan

ISLAMABAD (Reuters): Imran Khan survived a move to oust him as Pakistan’s Prime Minister on Sunday, getting a reprieve when the Deputy Speaker of Parliament blocked a no-confidence motion as unconstitutional.

Khan, whose fate was not immediately clear, advised the country’s President to dissolve Parliament, leading to fresh political instability in the nuclear-armed country of 220 million people.

“I’ve sent advice to the president to dissolve assemblies,” Khan said in a televised address, referring to national and state legislatures.

He called on the nation to prepare for fresh elections.

The opposition vowed to fight the block, made by Deputy Speaker Qasim Suri of Khan’s political party.

“We will stage a sit-in at the National Assembly (parliament). We are also moving to the Supreme Court today,” Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, head of the opposition Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), told reporters.

If the vote had gone through and the opposition remained united, the former cricket star who surged to power in 2018 but recently lost his parliamentary majority, would have been out of office.

A prominent newspaper had recently said Khan was “as good as gone”, but he had urged his supporters to take to the streets on Sunday ahead of the planned vote.

Discover Kapruka, the leading online shopping platform in Sri Lanka, where you can conveniently send Gifts and Flowers to your loved ones for any event including Valentine ’s Day. Explore a wide range of popular Shopping Categories on Kapruka, including Toys, Groceries, Electronics, Birthday Cakes, Fruits, Chocolates, Flower Bouquets, Clothing, Watches, Lingerie, Gift Sets and Jewellery. Also if you’re interested in selling with Kapruka, Partner Central by Kapruka is the best solution to start with. Moreover, through Kapruka Global Shop, you can also enjoy the convenience of purchasing products from renowned platforms like Amazon and eBay and have them delivered to Sri Lanka.