The alliance of opposition politicians, the Pakistan Democratic Movement, launches the motion against Prime Minister Imran Khan in parliament.
Pakistani opposition lawmakers have launched a motion of censure against Prime Minister Imran Khan in parliament, hoping to oust the Khan government amid accusations that it has mismanaged the nation’s economy.
The chamber will begin a debate on the motion on Thursday and a vote will be held within seven days.
Shehbaz Sharif, opposition leader in the National Assembly, or lower house of parliament, proposed a no-confidence motion against Khan on Monday.
“The prime minister is stepping down from office after he has lost the confidence of this chamber,” Sharif said, reading the no-confidence motion broadcast live on television.
An alliance of opposition lawmakers, called the Pakistan Democratic Movement, has been trying to alienate Khan’s coalition partners, some of whom seemed ready to leave him.
Pakistan’s opposition says it has the 172 votes needed in the 342-seat chamber to oust Khan’s government.
political chaos It came after the opposition announced it would hold a no-confidence motion against Khan weeks ago, endangering the government. It marked the toughest challenge of Khan’s political life.
Monday’s development came a day after Khan at a rally vowed to defeat the censorship effort with the help of lawmakers from his own Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party and political allies.
In response to Khan’s Sunday rally, an opposition alliance staged a massive anti-government rally attended by tens of thousands of people in Islamabad on Monday.
Meanwhile, four more legislators announced that they were resign from the Khan coalition government, strengthening the opposition.
Khan, 69, a former captain of the Pakistani national cricket team, came to power in the 2018 election and won 176 votes. He needs 172 votes to remain in power.
But nearly 20 defections from Khan’s ruling party and rifts in his coalition partners have prevented him from reaching the 172 votes, a simple majority, needed to stay in power.
“We have the support of the required legislators to overthrow the government of Imran Khan,” Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, leader of the opposition Pakistan People’s Party, told reporters.
But Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed said the no-confidence motion will be rejected.
To try to survive, the government announced that it would give the post of prime minister of the country’s largest province, Punjab, to one of its coalition partners.
But another ruling coalition party decided to join the opposition, strengthening the opposition with 168 votes.
Opposition and analysts say the prime minister has fallen out with the powerful military, which largely determines who will rule, a charge Khan and the military deny.
Khan has blamed a foreign-funded conspiracy for trying to overthrow his government.
China is a longtime supporter and Pakistan, a traditional ally of the West, abstained from voting as the UN General Assembly overwhelmingly rebuked Russia for invading Ukraine.