Imran Khan (69), the Prime Minister of Pakistan, has been voted out of office by the Pakistani parliament. In a vote of no confidence, 174 of 342 MPs voted against the former cricket eater, acting Speaker of the Parliament Sardar Ayaz Sadiq announced on Saturday night (local time) in the capital Islamabad.
Pakistan has been independent since 1947. Since then, no prime minister has fully served his mandate. Khan, however, is the first Pakistani prime minister to be overthrown after a vote of no confidence. The former prime minister has been in power since 2018.
On Thursday, the Supreme Court ruled that Kahn had unlawfully dissolved parliament last Sunday and that a vote on a no-confidence vote against him was to take place on Saturday. Khan tried to get enough support until the last minute to postpone the vote, but in vain.
Successor
Minutes before the vote, Asad Qaiser, the chairman of the National Assembly, announced his resignation. He said he had investigated a diplomatic report containing evidence of a foreign conspiracy to overthrow the government.
Khan’s succession will be decided tomorrow. Shehbaz Sharif, the leader of the Muslim PML-N party and the younger brother of ex-Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, is expected to become the new prime minister. The challenges ahead are immense. For example, Pakistan’s economy is struggling and attacks by the local Taliban (TTP) are regularly taking place. Moreover, the opposition is pushing for new elections.
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