Pak Oppn moves no-confidence in Imran: How Pak PM could lose his chair

File image of Prime Minister of Pakistan Imran Khan. AP

The two major Opposition parties of Pakistan submitted a no-confidence motion on Tuesday against Prime Minister Imran Khan, seeking to oust him.

About 100 lawmakers from the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz {PML-N} and the Pakistan Peoples Party {PPP} submitted the motion to the National Assembly Secretariat.

While his party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) stands strongly behind him, he could lose his chair if unable to prove majority in the House.

Let’s examine the allegations against Imran and how he could lose his prime ministership:

No-confidence motion against Imran Khan

The two major Opposition parties have accused Imran’s government of mismanaging the economy and poor governance that has led to “uncontrolled inflation”.

In response, Imran accused them of trying to remove the government as he was not willing to condone the alleged corruption by the leading Opposition leaders.

In the House of 342, the Opposition needs the support of 172 members to remove the Prime Minister and his cabinet.

As per rules, signatures of at least 68 members of Parliament are required to force the Speaker to convene a session to conduct a vote on a no-confidence motion between three to seven days from receiving it.

Imran, 69, is heading a coalition government and he can be removed if some of the partners decide to switch sides, which is not unusual in parliamentary democracies.

As per agency reports, the Opposition has claimed that they have the backing of 28 lawmakers of the ruling party and others from an ally of the government, sources said.

Meanwhile, Imran’s close aide Aleem Khan announced that he would be joining hands with disgruntled party leader Jahangir Tareen, prompting the panic-stricken prime minister to dispatch Sindh Governor Imran Ismail to Lahore to pacify the former Punjab minister.

Imran, a former cricketer, came to power in 2018 and elections are to be held in 2023 if he succeeds to ward off the challenge of no-trust move.

He had promised to clean the country of corruption and create a new Pakistan.

Last year, in March, the premier had voluntarily sought a trust vote following an upset in Senate elections. In a show of strength, he had secured 178 votes, six more than required to win the vote of confidence from the National Assembly, the Dawn website reported.

Other PMs before Imran to face no-confidence motion

Imran has become the third Pakistan prime minister to face the no-confidence motion. Earlier Benazir Bhutto in 1989 and Shaukat Aziz in 2006 had faced the trial, both the leaders had survived the vote.

In 2006, the Opposition had called for an investigation into allegations of corruption in connection with the privatisation of a country’s public sector steel mill.

The Opposition parties obtained support of 136 members, well below the 171 needed to remove Aziz from the office.

Bhutto, however, had a close shave as she survived the no-confidence motion by only 12 votes.

Bhutto was marred by widespread charges of corruption and incompetence from the Opposition.

Of the 237 members of Parliament, 107 voted to support the motion of no confidence, 12 short of the 119 needed in 1989.

With inputs from agencies

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