Pakistan’s Priem Minister Imran Khan survived the move to oust him as Pakistan’s prime minister after a no-confidence vote was blocked in parliament by the deputy speaker who said it was against Article 5 of the Constitution.
At the session on Sunday morning, Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry said that loyalty to the state was the basic duty of every citizen under Article 5(1) and claimed the no-confidence move was part of a “foreign conspiracy” to oust the government.
National Assembly Deputy Speaker Qasim Khan Suri dismissed the no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Imran Khan, terming it against Article 5 of the Constitution which deals with loyalty and obedience to the state as the basic duty of every citizen.
Following the vote, Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry said Khan will now continue with his responsibilities under Article 224 of the country’s constitution.
Prime Minister Khan in a bride video message congratulated that nation and called for early elections. “I want to congratulate our nation by the speaker to reject a regime change which was backed by a foreign agenda,” Khan said in an address to the nation following the blocking of the vote.
Later on the advice of the prime minister, the President of Pakistan Dr Arif Alvi dissolved the national assembly which will be followed by the process of setting up a caretaker government and elections will be held within 90 days.
The “surprise move” by the government left the opposition leaders baffled. The opposition vowed to challenge the block on the vote in the Supreme Court.
PPP Chairman Bilawal-Bhutto Zardari said that the government had violated the Constitution by not allowing voting to take place on the no-confidence motion. “The united opposition is not leaving Parliament. Our lawyers are on their way to Supreme Court. We call on all institutions to protect, uphold, defend and implement the Constitution of Pakistan.”
Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly and PML-N president Shehbaz Sharif said the move was “nothing short of high treason”.
“Imran Khan has pushed the country into anarchy. Niazi and his cohort will not be allowed to go scot-free. There will be consequences for [the] blatant and brazen violation of the Constitution. Hope the Supreme Court will play its role to uphold the Constitution,” he said.