Pakistan heads for early election under caretaker govt

GBNews24 Desk//

Pakistan’s president has dissolved parliament – a step towards early elections – following an attempt to remove PM Imran Khan from office, report BBC and Associated Press.

It comes after parliament’s deputy speaker refused to hold a vote of no-confidence the PM was expected to lose.

Pakistan’s constitution calls for the establishment of a caretaker government to see the country toward elections, which are to be held within 90 days.

According to the constitution, the caretaker government is to be established with input from the opposition.

As per the Article 224 (Clauses 1A-1B) of the constitution of Pakistan, a caretaker government will operate in the interim period between the normal dissolution of parliament, facilitating the election process, until a new government was formed after the election results were known.

Imran Khan claims the US is leading a conspiracy to remove him because of his criticism of US policy and other foreign policy decisions he has taken.

Opposition politicians ridicule the allegation, and the US has denied it.

Imran Khan visited Moscow to meet President Vladimir Putin as Russia was launching the invasion of Ukraine, He has previously criticised America’s “War on Terror”.

The BBC’s Secunder Kermani says prime minister is widely regarded as having come to power with the help of Pakistan’s army, but now observers say they have fallen out.

His political opponents seized the opportunity to demand the no-confidence vote after persuading a number of his coalition partners to defect to them.

Khan, who was not in Parliament, went on national television to say he would ask Pakistan’s president to dissolve the body and hold elections.

“I ask people to prepare for the next elections. Thank God, a conspiracy to topple the government has failed,” Khan said in his address.

The opposition arrived in Parliament ready to vote Khan out of power. They needed a simple majority of 172 votes in Pakistan’s 342-seat Parliament to unseat Khan, a cricket star turned conservative Islamic politician. Khan’s small but key coalition partners along with 17 of his own party members joined the opposition to oust him.