Everything About the Ousting of Pakistan’s PM Imran Khan Simplified for You

Imran Khan, who came into power as the prime minister of Pakistan back in 2018, rose to power with promises of rooting out corruption and fixing the economy.

A former national hero on Pakistan’s national cricket team, Khan transformed into a charismatic politician, bringing a fresh force to Pakistan’s political scene after years of effort.

With rallies full of catchy songs and a strong social media presence, Khan managed to amplify his anti-corruption message and promised to bring change to Pakistan.

However, in 2022, he became the first prime minister to be kicked out of the hot seat by a vote of no confidence.

Here’s what happened.

Broken Promises

Khan rose to power by promising to fix the government and grow the economy.

Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to meet his promises.

Instead of an Islamic welfare state where wealth was shared, Pakistan had to contend with depleting foreign exchange reserves and soaring inflation in the double digits.

The Pakistan rupee fell to an all-time low and the cost of essential items skyrocketed.

Khan reportedly started losing allies and fell out with his greatest supporter, the military.

In late March, Khan faced a series of defections that deprived him of his majority.

Treason

On Sunday (3 Apr), opposition parties in parliament put forth a no-confidence motion against the prime minister, hoping to oust him from power.

However, the motion was blocked by deputy speaker Qasim Suri, who is part of Khan’s political party.

The motion, he said, showed “foreign interference” and goes against the constitution which demands loyalty to the state.

Khan’s government then went ahead to call for an early election, dissolving the parliament.

Some opposition members were enraged at the administration’s moves; they accused Khan of treason for blocking the vote.

Repealed

A petition was submitted to the Supreme Court, the top court in Pakistan, by opposition figures.

The court ruled that Khan’s move to block the motion of no-confidence was unconstitutional.

It ordered that the no-confidence vote should proceed.

Ousted From Power

The voting was held past midnight on Sunday and several PTI members resigned and left before it started.

They insisted that Khan was a victim of an international conspiracy.

Previously, Khan had insisted that he was the target of a US-led conspiracy; he said that the US wanted him removed because of his refusal to stand with America on the issues of China and Russia.

The US has responded to these allegations and said that there are no truths to his claims.

The opposition managed to get a majority vote of 174, out of 342, successfully ousting Khan from power.

A New Dawn

In a tweet, opposition leader Shehbaz Sharif, the younger brother of three-time former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, said that Pakistan was “finally freed from a crisis”.

“Congratulations to the Pakistani nation on a new dawn.”

The assembly will appoint a new prime minister and will meet on Monday to vote for the new leader.

The person will hold power until October 2023, when the next election is expected to take place.

Ayaz Sadiq, the person in charge of the assembly when there are no ruling party members or designated speakers, said nomination papers must be filed by 11am local time.

Falling Out With The Military

Khan’s rise to the prime minister seat was dogged with accusations of vote-rigging and foul play.

Media outlets that reported sympathetically on Khan’s opponents had their distribution cut while candidates who stood against him were allegedly persuaded or threatened into joining his party.

Unfortunately, Khan seemed to have fallen out of favour with the Pakistani military. It was believed that the rift between the two establishments started back in October 2021.

Then, Khan had refused to sign off on the appointment of a new chief of Pakistan’s powerful ISI intelligence agency.

While he did eventually sign off on it, it fractured his relationship with the military establishment.

“Imran Khan crossed the military’s red line, and while he eventually accepted the appointment of the person the military wanted, it was downhill for him from then on.”

Both parties have denied the claims of falling out.

What’s Next?

It’s likely that the ones to suffer the most are the Pakistani citizens, according to analysts.

The opposition coalition seemed like they do not have a plan beyond ousting Khan from the seat of power.

“Pakistan is heading towards a prolonged period of political instability, for at least a year and a half.

“The entire next election cycle will continue to be volatile, deeply polarising and we won’t have any level of stability until after the elections.”

Meanwhile, Khan said that he will not recognise an opposition government.

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Feature Image: Screengrab from YouTube (CBC News)