Imran Khan

2022 - 4 - 10

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Image courtesy of "The Guardian"

Pakistan parliament ousts Imran Khan in last-minute vote (The Guardian)

Pakistan's prime minister found to have broken the law by attempting to stop vote going ahead.

“What is happening with our democracy is catastrophic,” Khan said in his speech. “From paralysed bureaucracy to the foreign policy challenges to the broken economy, chaos is reigning supreme.” The opposition has stated its intention to hold elections in the next few months, though they are likely to be October at the earliest. They appealed to the supreme court, who overturned Khan’s decision. Fawad Hussain, Khan’s minister for information, called it a “sad day for Pakistan. The return of looters and a good man sent home.” The Islamabad high court also prepared itself to hear a late-night contempt of court case.

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Image courtesy of "Sky News"

Imran Khan: Pakistan PM ousted after losing no confidence vote (Sky News)

Mr Khan, a former cricket star, surged to power in 2018 but recently lost his parliamentary majority. He has accused his opponents of colluding with the US ...

Few politicians from Mr Khan's ruling party were present for the process, according to Reuters. Mr Khan, a former cricket star, surged to power in 2018 but recently lost his parliamentary majority. Mr Khan has accused his opponents of colluding with the US to remove him but has provided no evidence, and has urged people to take to the streets this weekend in protest.

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Image courtesy of "The Washington Post"

Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan ousted in no-confidence vote (The Washington Post)

Khan made a last-ditch effort to cling to power, producing a document that he said proved U.S. officials had conspired against him in league with his ...

“Now we will make Pakistan again a country grounded in the law and the Constitution.” After taking office, Khan shifted Pakistan’s allegiance to China and caused consternation in Washington with some of his policies and public gestures. For the first time since the nation’s founding in 1947, it was neither a military coup nor another form of extralegal interference that cut short a prime minister’s tenure. Then the national assembly speaker announced that he was resigning to support Khan after viewing the secret document. And when it appeared that his opponents had marshaled enough votes to remove him, Khan dissolved the legislature April 3 and arranged to have the vote abruptly canceled, on the grounds that it was based on an illegal foreign conspiracy. “Today, Parliament will be writing history and defeat an elected prime minister in a constitutional manner,” he declared. Stunned and enraged, opposition leaders rushed to the Supreme Court, demanding that it overturn Khan’s actions on the grounds that they were unconstitutional and illegal. The count started just before midnight, and by 1:30 a.m., the embattled premier had been removed from office. Meanwhile, Khan spoke at a charity event and held a closed-door Cabinet meeting. Instead, pro-government members spent much of the day giving long, rambling speeches in an effort to delay the vote. Khan, in a subdued address to the nation Friday, said he would accept the decision. But in recent months, he had struggled to control rampant inflation, foreign debt and other economic woes.

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Image courtesy of "knkx.org"

Imran Khan has been ousted as Pakistan's prime minister (knkx.org)

Updated April 9, 2022 at 4:45 PM ET. Imran Khan was ousted from his position as prime minister of Pakistan after 174 legislators voted against him in a no-confidence motion early on Sunday morning. The vote came after the speaker of the house resigned, ...

The Jamiat-e-Ulema-Islam, or Assembly of Clerics, teaches a deeply conservative brand of Islam in its schools. It is you who have to protect your democracy, your sovereignty and your independence. He said they needed to protect Pakistan's sovereignty and oppose U.S. dictations. Before discussion of the vote began, all of Khan's allies walked out of the chamber. The U.S. State Department has denied any involvement in Pakistan's internal politics. "You have to come out to protect your own future.

Pakistan parliament holds a no-confidence vote against Prime ... (NPR)

The Pakistan parliament is holding a no-confidence vote in Prime Minister Imran Khan, which will lead to his ouster. Opponents accuse his government of ...

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Image courtesy of "Aljazeera.com"

What led to leader Imran Khan's downfall in Pakistan? (Aljazeera.com)

Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf lost the support of coalition allies, denying him the parliamentary majority he needed.

Military’s view was that it was the fallout of the Afghan war and we had no choice. Response [in the military] is mixed on whether it should have been used to meddle with the vote of no confidence.” “Once the view was entrenched that he can’t stay, it was only a matter of time.” But by pledging to support the no-confidence vote against Khan, the coalition allies effectively ended Khan’s three and a half year spell as prime minister. General Bajwa’s second term as army chief will end in November, with General Hameed one of the senior-most generals eligible to replace him. While the Pakistani military backed Khan’s Moscow trip, differences intensified after Khan made a high-stakes domestic pivot. Imran Khan is a populist, that’s his vulnerability too.” Meanwhile, the economy remains in a parlous state. “But then I saw that while Khan publicly talked about the poor, privately he surrounded himself with wealthy investors.” The move piled further pressure on Pakistan’s chronic fiscal deficit and balance-of-payment troubles. “There was disgruntlement for the past two years,” Kakar added. The former prime minister’s political demise was rooted in twin new realities.

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Image courtesy of "The Indian Express"

Explained: What Imran Khan's ouster as Pakistan PM means for India (The Indian Express)

Imran Khan, whose political career did not quite end the way his professional cricketing career did, lost the no-trust vote late on Saturday, ...

He was the one to move the no-confidence motion against Khan, and has worked his way into getting the support of the Pakistan Army. Nawaz Sharif, who is still in London, was also remembered by his brother during his speech after the no-confidence motion. By ousting Imran Khan, Nawaz Sharif’s brother Shehbaz Sharif has shown that he still holds the cards to be back in the game. While New Delhi has been in and out of Islamabad’s political discourse, this time, Imran Khan had praised India for its foreign policy, as he targeted Pakistan’s military establishment for its inept handling of its international and security policies. In Pakistan, the Army still calls the shots. He arrived as this unknown commodity from political perspective, since he didn’t belong to the mainstream parties — either the Pakistan (Muslim League (Nawaz) or the Pakistan People’s Party. He held a lot of promise which meant that he did not carry any historical baggage. Forty-nine years ago, on April 10, 1973, Pakistan’s Parliament had approved its Constitution. Cut to 2022, on the same day, the country saw the first time that a Prime Minister was ousted following a no-confidence vote.

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Image courtesy of "Bloomberg"

Pakistan PM Khan Loses Confidence Vote, Ousted From Power (Bloomberg)

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan was ousted from office after losing a no-confidence vote following a week of dramatic political developments, ...

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Image courtesy of "CNN"

Imran Khan: Pakistan Prime Minister voted out of office - CNN (CNN)

Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan has been ousted as the country's leader following a vote of no-confidence over allegations of economic mismanagement, ...

But diplomacy on both sides led to a simmering stalemate that lasted throughout Khan's premiership, with much praise going to the Pakistani leader for his professional and peaceful conduct. Khan won a seat in parliament in 2002, but his party mostly languished in the political wilderness. They had urged Khan to resign ahead of the vote. Khan said he had been singled out by the US because, unlike his opponents, he couldn't "easily be used as a puppet by the West," with regard to an independent foreign policy. The Supreme Court's Thursday decision paved the way for Khan's removal from office. No prime minister has ever completed a full five-year term under the present constitution of 1973.

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Image courtesy of "Aljazeera.com"

Pakistan: Key players behind PM Imran Khan's removal (Aljazeera.com)

Brief profiles of key opposition leaders as Khan becomes first Pakistan premier removed through no-confidence vote.

The Oxford-educated 33-year-old is considered a progressive, in his mother’s image, and has frequently spoken out on the rights of women and minorities. The 67-year-old became co-chairman of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) after the assassination of Bhutto in 2007, and became president of the country a year later in a power-sharing deal with the PML-N. The 70-year-old is a political heavyweight in his own right, however, having served as chief minister of Punjab, the family’s power base, and now as president of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N).

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