Imran Khan has lost a crucial and much delayed no-confidence motion held a little past midnight on April 10 in Pakistan’s Parliament. With this he officially ceases to be the country’s Prime Minister, as the motion was able to mop up 174 viotes against a minimum requirement of 172.
Imran’s supporters had staged a walkout from Parliament just minutes before the trust vote, ostensibly in response to the resignation tendered by Pakistan Speaker Asad Qaiser.
When the voting process finally commenced, not a single member of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) party was present in the House.
The development drew an immediate response from Fawad Chaudhari who was a minister in Imran’s cabinet. He called it a sad day for Pakistan and posted a tweet with these words: “return of looters” and “a good man sent home”. His views came even before the official numbers were declared.
Maryam Nawaz, on the other hand, tweeted that the path for Shehbaz Sharif to become prime minister was now clear.
Pakistan’s Speaker and Deputy Speaker tendered their resignations just ahead of the no-confidence motion against PM Imran Khan.
In an impassioned speech, Speaker Asad Qaiser cited his 26-year-old friendship with Imran Khan for his decision, even as he recalled his association with the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf party and Shaukat Khanum Cancer Hospital. Soon after this, Imran Khan’s supporters staged a walkout in an apparent protest against Qaiser’s move.
Meanwhile, the no-trust vote process commenced a few minutes past midnight, Indian Standard Time.
Voting become mandatory after Pakistan apex Supreme Court Quashing Deputy Speaker Qasim Khan Suri’s April 3 ruling and the subsequent dissolution of the National Assembly, Pakistan’s Supreme Court Thursday and ordered the revival of the no-confidence motion against embattled Prime Minister Imran Khan.
