Pakistan: Imran Khan loses no-confidence vote – DN.SE

The political drama in Pakistan’s nuclear energy has been going on for several weeks. In mid-March, three opposition parties cast a vote of no-confidence against populist Imran Khan, who has been ruling Pakistan since 2018. In recent months, many of Khan’s allies have left or changed their positions, and opposition parties have managed to count more than 172 votes needed to oust Imran Khan. The Prime Minister himself has long claimed that a foreign conspiracy led by the United States is behind this act. No evidence was provided for these allegations.

First, the vote was postponed several times, while it was clear that support for Imran Khan waned further. Last weekend, Parliament dissolved to prevent the vote from taking place. On Thursday, the Supreme Court ruled that parliament must be reinstated and a vote of confidence must be taken.

In a letter to the nation On Friday evening, Imran Khan said he was disappointed with the court, but would follow suit.

After a debate that lasted over 13 hours with a heated atmosphere and many interruptions, Imran Khan was defeated by 174 votes, two votes more than required. Parliament Speaker Asad Qaiser resigned from Khan Tehrik Insaf shortly before the vote on the grounds that he did not want foreign forces to overthrow the Pakistani prime minister.

A new prime minister is due to be appointed on Sunday. The opposition approved Shahbaz Sharif, 70, the younger brother of Nawaz Sharif, who served as Pakistan’s prime minister for three terms. He has been living in exile in London since leaving Pakistan to escape punishment after being convicted of corruption.

After the vote late on Saturday night, Shahbaz Sharif said the new alliance would rebuild Pakistan.

However, changing the government will not solve Pakistan’s urgent problems. The country has been hit hard by high energy prices. Inflation has more than doubled in neighboring India in the past two years, and external debt is described as accelerating. Earlier this week, the coin hit its lowest value so far. The country is marked by almost daily attacks by Islamist militant groups.

According to many analysts Imran Khan’s deteriorating relationship with the military is the root of his weak position. The army is the real power factor in Pakistan, and the military support contributed to Imran Khan’s election victory four years ago. The country was ruled for long periods by military dictators.

Since Pakistan became an independent country in 1947, no democratically elected prime minister has completed his five-year term. Imran Khan is the first to be forced out in a vote of no confidence.

Imran Khan’s political agenda is to fight corruption. Over time, his rhetoric became increasingly hostile to the United States and the West, and he considered China and Russia to be his friends. Imran Khan was the first to visit Vladimir Putin in Moscow after the Russian invasion of Ukraine

His superstar status in Pakistan is still primarily related to the efforts in cricket. Imran Khan is considered one of the best players of all time and was behind winning the World Cup in 1992, one of Pakistan’s proudest moments. When he retired from sports, he initially devoted himself to charity and raised more than SEK 200 million for a cancer hospital named after his mother. Imran Khan entered politics in 1996.