Pakistan’s Opposition parties on Tuesday submitted a no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Imran Khan to remove him from office after holding his government responsible for the uncontrolled inflation, prompting him to dismiss the move and flaunt his closeness to the powerful army.
The motion, signed by about 100 lawmakers from the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), was submitted with the National Assembly Secretariat, PML-N spokesperson Marriyum Aurangzeb said.
“We have taken this decision for the people of Pakistan and not for ourselves,” PML-N president and Leader of the Opposition Shehbaz Sharif, who was flanked by former president and PPP co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman, told a press conference.
As per rules, signatures of at least 68 Members of Parliament were required to force the Speaker to summon a session, which should be convened between three to seven days to conduct a vote on a no-confidence motion.
In the house of 342, the opposition needed the support of 172 members to remove the Prime Minister and his cabinet.
Khan, 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.