After months of hectic parleys, Pakistan’s combined opposition has submitted the no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Imran Khan in the National Assembly on Tuesday afternoon to remove the Pakistani prime Minister Imran Khan and his government.
The no-confidence motion was submitted to the Secretary of the National Assembly with the signatures of 86 members–18 more than the required 68.
After submitting the motion, the opposition leaders claimed they have more than 172 members in the National Assembly which is required to remove the Imran Khan led government. At present Imran Khan’s ruling coalition has 179 members while the combined opposition has 162 in the assembly of 342 members.
According to the Pakistani constitution, the speaker has to decide the date when the no-confidence motion against Imran Khan will be placed in the assembly for the voting within two weeks.
“Imran Khan is in deep trouble. It is time for Imran Khan to go home,” said one Pakistani insider.
The alarm bell for Imran Khan has been ringing for the last two weeks. On Monday, another close aide of Imran Khan, Abdul Aleem Khan, had decided to join the dissident group of ruling party led by Imran Khan’s friend turned foe, estranged party leader Jahangir Khan Tareen.
“Aleem controls about 12 parliamentarians and Jahangir Tahreen has a block of 31members of the ruling PTI party in the Pakistan National Assembly, which is known as Forward Block and if they are going to vote against Imran Khan, then Khan’s defeat is certain,” says Akhtar Jamaal, a member of the Pakistani think tank.
The Opposition is confident of having the numbers to remove PM Imran Khan, sources said, adding that they are claiming to have the support of 202 National Assembly members.
Aleem Khan’s announcement comes as a major blow to Imran Khan and his government as it grapples with a chronic economic crisis and rising inflation amid reports of strained ties with the all-powerful military. Like Tahreen, Aleem Khan is a rich politician of Pakistan who owns Samaa TV and other business groups. He had been with Imran Khan since 2012.
“All those people who worked for Naya Pakistan alongside Imran Khan, are ignored and humiliated. All of us who were part of the Pakistan Tehreek-e Insaf (PTI) and were sincere, let us all come together on one platform,” Aleem asked all his party members to join Tahreen’s group according to the Pakistani media.
Feeling the heat, Imran Khan has cancelled all his important cabinet meetings and huddled with his “core” members of the party. According to insiders, Khan asked them to get the dissidents back at any cost.
“Unlike the past, this time the hand of the military establishment is nowhere to be seen in all political activities and that is the main problem for us,” an insider says quoting one senior member of the ruling party.
The stakes for the opposition are very high. A failed attempt would be a huge political setback. There is no precedent in Pakistan’s political history of any elected government having been ousted by a vote of no-confidence. According to Pakistan watchers, this time the military establishment is not coming to rescue Imran Khan and the opposition has all chances to make history.
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