Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan was yesterday to address the nation, on the eve of a controversial no-confidence vote that looks certain to dismiss him.
The country is abuzz with speculation he might resign rather than face the indignity of being voted out — or that the former international cricket star might pull off another surprise.
Khan, who peppers his speeches with cricket metaphors, said late on Thursday he would fight “till the last ball,” while summoning his cabinet and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party leaders for crisis meetings yesterday.
Photo: AFP
His interior minister gave a hint of what might come, telling reporters he had long pressed for PTI 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,” former Pakistani minister of the interior Sheikh Rashid Ahmad said.
The opposition said it has more than 172 votes in the 342-seat assembly, which needs one-quarter of members present for a quorum.
Today’s vote would cap a dramatic week during which Khan sidestepped an initial no-confidence vote before getting the loyalist president to dissolve parliament and call fresh elections.
However, the Supreme Court on Thursday ruled all his actions illegal, and said the national assembly — where Khan has lost his majority — must decide his fate.
The court’s judgement was broader than expected after the chief justice said earlier this week that the bench would only rule on the legality of the initial no-confidence motion being blocked.
Constitutionalists praised the verdict, calling it an end to the so-called “doctrine of necessity” that has seen courts throughout Pakistan’s history rule against clear illegality, but accept the consequences as being good for the country.
The decision was met with jubilation by the Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N) and the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), two normally feuding groups that combined to oust Khan.
PML-N leader Shehbaz Sharif, brother of three-time prime minister Nawaz Sharif and likely to replace Khan, said the decision “has saved Pakistan and the constitution.”
“Democracy is the best revenge,” PPP leader Bilawal Zardari Bhutto, whose parents are assassinated former prime minister Benazir Bhutto and ex-president Asif Ali Zardari, wrote on Twitter.
How long the next government lasts is also a matter of speculation.
The opposition previously said they wanted an early election — which must be called by October next year — but taking power gives them the opportunity to set their own agenda and end a string of probes they said Khan launched vindictively against them.
It could also pave the way for a comeback by Nawaz Sharif, who has not returned from Britain since being allowed to leave jail in 2019 to seek medical treatment abroad.
He was barred by the Supreme Court from holding public office after graft revelations, and sentenced to 10 years in prison by an accountability court.
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