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No-confidence motion against Imran Khan

For the constitutional crisis in Pakistan (3 April 2022 - 10 April 2022), see 2022 Pakistani constitutional crisis.

No-confidence motion against Imran Khan
Date9 April 2022
LocationParliament of Pakistan
Outcome
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In April 2022, a no-confidence motion against Imran Khan led to his removal as the prime minister of Pakistan. Based largely on the Westminster system of legislature, the prime minister commands confidence of the majority of the lower house of Parliament, the National Assembly of Pakistan, under clause (2A) of Article 91 of the Constitution. Numerous opposition parties joined forces to file the motion of no confidence against Imran Khan in the National Assembly. It ultimately led to the removal of Khan from office as a majority passed the motion in the Lower House.

The decision to file a no-confidence motion against sitting prime minister Imran Khan of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) – who had held the position since the 2018 election – was taken at a summit of the opposition parties, united under the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) alliance.[1][2][3] Speaking at a joint press conference, the then-Leader of the Opposition Shehbaz Sharif said the motion was presented because of the government's poor performance in economic and social indicators during the four years of Khan's ministry.[4] In the leadup to the no-confidence motion, Khan's PTI also faced defections from some lawmakers within its own ranks, which emboldened the opposition's move to file the motion.[5]

On 8 March 2022, representatives of opposition parties filed the motion against Khan in the National Assembly, seeking to remove him from office, while accusing his alleged hybrid regime of poor governance, political victimisation of opponents,[6] and mismanaging the economy and foreign policy.[7][8][4] It is alleged that these factors also contributed to Khan's falling out with Pakistan's military establishment, which had remained a key backer of his government.[7]

Khan claimed that he possessed a diplomatic cable dated 7 March, in which a "threat" was issued by the US[9] government stating their desire to see Khan's ousting from office, with the stipulation that Pakistan would be "forgiven" if the motion against him succeeded.[10][11][12][13] The US was allegedly unhappy with Khan's foreign policy and his visit to Russia.[10][14]

Khan alleged that the United States was behind a "foreign conspiracy" to oust him in a regime change, and that he had written evidence attesting to this. These allegations were denied by the US government.[15][16] Imran Khan also said that he has been punished on not accepting U.S. policy after withdrawal from Afghanistan. Donald Lu, US Assistant Secretary of State for Central and South Asia, evaded the question regarding his meeting with Pakistan's Ambassador to the U.S.[17] Khan's party alleged that there is a close connection between regime changes after the UN's Ukraine Resolution. Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Spokesperson Maria Zakharova said that the U.S. has punished disobedient Imran Khan and termed that interference a shameless act.[18] However, U.S. said that there is "absolutely no truth" in the allegations.[19][20]

In August 2023, more than a year after Khan first made his claims, The Intercept published a leaked copy of the cable, which it claimed to have received from a disgruntled member of Pakistan's military. In the cable, Pakistan's ambassador to the United States reported that U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Central and South Asia Donald Lu warned that the “isolation of the Prime Minister will become very strong from Europe and the United States” after Khan's visit to Russia, and that “if the no-confidence vote against the Prime Minister succeeds, all will be forgiven in Washington.” [21] The cable confirmed Khan's prior claim, showing the US government exerted pressure on the Pakistani military and establishment to ensure an outcome favorable to the US interests.[22]

On 3 April 2022, the motion of no confidence was unilaterally dismissed by the deputy speaker, Qasim Khan Suri, without putting the motion to a vote in the National Assembly, on grounds of "foreign interference".[23] Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, chairman of the opposition Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), announced challenging the ruling in the Supreme Court of Pakistan: "Our lawyers are on their way to Supreme Court. We call on all institutions to protect, uphold, defend and implement the constitution of Pakistan," he wrote.[24]

With the motion set aside, and invoking his powers as prime minister, Khan advised president Arif Alvi to dissolve the National Assembly and called for fresh general elections,[25] an act on which the Supreme Court took suo moto notice of the ensuing constitutional crisis.[26] The development came after the opposition leaders demanded to review the "unconstitutional" ruling given by National Assembly Deputy Speaker Qasim Suri.[24] The Supreme Court, with a 5–0 vote, ruled that the deputy speaker's ruling to dismiss the motion and the subsequent dissolution of the National Assembly were unconstitutional, thus allowing the no-confidence vote to proceed. On 10 April, the no-confidence motion passed with a majority of 174 votes (out of 342) in the National Assembly, which resulted in Khan losing the confidence of the house and ceasing to hold the office of prime minister.[27][28] Thus, Khan became the first Pakistani prime minister to lose a no-confidence vote.[29] Later, Khan called for mass rallies against his removal and the new government.[30][31]

On 11 April, Shehbaz Sharif was elected unopposed by the National Assembly to replace Khan as prime minister, as Khan's PTI party boycotted the vote and resigned en masse from the National Assembly.[32] Sharif's cabinet, comprising 37 members, took oath on 19 April.[33]

Khan accuses the United States of a regime change.[34][35][9]

  1. ^ Khan, Nadir Guramani | Sanaullah (8 March 2022). "Opposition submits no-trust motion against PM Imran". DAWN.COM.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  2. ^ "Opp submits no-confidence motion against PM Imran in NA". The Express Tribune. 8 March 2022.
  3. ^ Shahzad, Asif (8 March 2022). "Pakistani opposition moves no-confidence motion to seek PM Khan's ouster". Reuters.
  4. ^ a b "No-trust move submitted for Pakistan's betterment: Shahbaz". www.geo.tv.
  5. ^ Bhatti, Haseeb (14 April 2022). "Imran Khan moves SC to impose lifetime ban on defecting lawmakers". Dawn. Retrieved 21 April 2022.
  6. ^ "Pakistan PM alleges 'foreign' plot against him at Islamabad rally". TRT World. 27 March 2022. Retrieved 10 April 2022.
  7. ^ a b "What led to Pakistan PM Imran Khan's downfall". BBC News. 9 April 2022.
  8. ^ Shahzad, Asif (8 March 2022). "Pakistani opposition moves no-confidence motion to seek PM Khan's ouster". Reuters. Retrieved 20 March 2022.
  9. ^ a b "Threat letter from US, says Pak PM Imran Khan says in slip of tongue". www.business-standard.com. Press Trust of India. 31 March 2022. Retrieved 7 October 2022.
  10. ^ a b Syed, Baqir Sajjad (10 April 2022). "'Cablegate' lands foreign service in knotty predicament". Dawn. Retrieved 10 April 2022.
  11. ^ Meer Baloch, Shah (31 March 2022). "Imran Khan claims US threatened him and wants him ousted as Pakistan PM". The Guardian. Retrieved 5 April 2022.
  12. ^ "Threatening letter came from US: PM Imran Khan". The News International. 1 April 2022. Retrieved 5 April 2022.
  13. ^ "'One-million gathering to be referendum against opposition'". www.thenews.com.pk. Retrieved 20 March 2022.
  14. ^ "Pakistan PM Imran Khan gone after losing no-confidence vote". Al Jazeera. 9 April 2022. Retrieved 12 April 2022. Khan angered the West by continuing with a visit to Moscow on the day Russia invaded Ukraine, and was also one of the few world leaders to attend the opening of the Beijing Winter Olympics when others boycotted in protest over China's human rights record.
  15. ^ "PM Imran Khan discloses name of US official who sent 'threat letter'". Geo News. 4 April 2022. Retrieved 10 April 2022.
  16. ^ "'Threat letter' to be shared with CJP, Senate chairman, NA speaker after cabinet's approval". www.thenews.com.pk.
  17. ^ "Lu evades question about Imran's allegations". The Dawn. 5 April 2022.
  18. ^ "US sought to punish 'disobedient' Imran Khan, says Russia". The Dawn. 5 April 2022.
  19. ^ "US welcomes NSC statement, says there's 'absolutely no truth' to conspiracy allegations". The News. 23 April 2022.
  20. ^ Dawn.com (11 November 2020). "US embassy in Islamabad apologises for sharing 'unauthorised' tweet against PM Imran". DAWN.COM. Retrieved 20 September 2022.
  21. ^ "Secret Pakistan Cable Documents U.S. Pressure to Remove Imran Khan". The Intercept. 9 August 2023. Retrieved 10 August 2023.
  22. ^ Marcetic, Branko (13 August 2023). "Imran Khan's Ouster Is a Story of US Power and Propaganda".
  23. ^ "Khan Throws Pakistan Into Chaos With Disputed Call for Election". Bloomberg. 3 April 2022. Retrieved 11 April 2022.
  24. ^ a b "CJP Bandial takes notice of today's NA proceedings". www.thenews.com.pk. Retrieved 15 April 2022.
  25. ^ "Pakistan's PM Khan calls for fresh elections after no-confidence vote blocked". France24. 3 April 2022. Retrieved 10 April 2022.
  26. ^ Bhatti, Haseeb (3 April 2022). "CJP takes suo motu notice of situation in country after dissolution of NA". DAWN.COM. Retrieved 3 April 2022.
  27. ^ "LIVE: Pak crisis: Parliament begins voting on no-confidence motion against PM Imran Khan after speaker resigns". WION. Retrieved 9 April 2022.
  28. ^ Chaudhry, Fahad (9 April 2022). "Imran Khan loses no-trust vote, prime ministerial term set for unceremonious end". DAWN.COM. Retrieved 9 April 2022.
  29. ^ "Imran Khan ousted as Pakistan's PM after vote". BBC News. 10 April 2022. Retrieved 10 April 2022.
  30. ^ "Imran Khan calls for massive rally as angry supporters hit streets". The Independent. 12 April 2022.
  31. ^ "Govt advises Imran Khan to address Lahore rally virtually amid 'severe threat alerts'". Dawn. 20 April 2022. Retrieved 21 April 2022.
  32. ^ "PTI announces mass resignations from National Assembly". Dawn. 11 April 2022. Retrieved 21 April 2022.
  33. ^ "Ministers of PM Shehbaz Sharif's 37-member cabinet take oath". Dawn. 19 April 2022. Retrieved 21 April 2022.
  34. ^ "Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan accuses the U.S. of trying to oust him : NPR". NPR. 3 April 2022. Archived from the original on 3 April 2022. Retrieved 20 September 2022.
  35. ^ "Pakistan PM accuses United States of backing move to oust him". Reuters. 2 April 2022. Retrieved 20 September 2022.

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