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ISLAMABAD – Pakistan’s Parliament today refused to accept a motion to debate the future of Prime Minister Imran Khan, saying “foreign powers” were interfering in the country’s democratic process.
“This no-confidence motion is against the constitution. I rule out this no-confidence motion in accordance with the constitution,” Deputy Speaker Asad Qaiser said as the session started.
Khan recently looked likely to be booted out of office as Parliament gathered to vote on a no-confidence motion following weeks of political turmoil.
No prime minister of Pakistan has ever completed a full term, and Khan faced the biggest challenge to his rule since being elected in 2018, with opponents accusing him of economic mismanagement and bungling foreign policy.
Today’s newspapers splashed foreboding headlines for Khan’s political fate, with the country’s biggest English-language daily The News calling it a “final countdown”.
“A new chapter in the history of Pakistani democracy may be written today,” wrote the influential Dawn newspaper.
Authorities installed a ring of steel around the National Assembly in the capital, using shipping containers to block roads after Khan yesterday called for supporters to take to the streets.
His Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party (PTI) effectively lost its majority in the 342-member assembly last week when a coalition partner said its seven lawmakers would vote with the opposition.
More than a dozen PTI lawmakers have also indicated they will cross the floor.
The opposition needs 172 votes for the motion to succeed, but in the past parties have resorted to physically preventing lawmakers from taking part by blocking access to the national assembly, leading to cat-and-mouse chases and even accusations of kidnapping.
Khan had earlier accused the opposition of conspiring with “foreign powers” to remove him because he won’t take the West’s side on global issues against Russia and China.
Earlier this week he accused the United States of meddling in Pakistan's affairs.
Local media had reported that Khan had received a briefing letter from Islamabad’s ambassador to Washington recording a senior US official saying they felt relations would be better if Khan left office.
In Washington last week, State Department spokesman Ned Price told reporters there was “no truth” to the allegations. – AFP, April 3, 2022