Imran Khan will face a no-confidence vote as Pakistan's Supreme Court has declared the Prime Minister's bid illegal to avoid dissolving parliament and removing him from office.

 

Pakistan's Supreme Court has ruled that blocking a parliamentary vote against Prime Minister Imran Khan was unconstitutional, paving the way for his possible removal.

On Sunday, Mr. Khan's ruling party refused to hold a no-confidence vote, which would have led to his ouster.

His government then dissolved parliament and called for immediate elections.

Political blindness angered the opposition, which immediately filed an appeal in the Supreme Court.

Mr. Khan, meanwhile, claimed without evidence that the political opposition was conspiring with the United States to oust him because of its friendly relations with Russia and China. Washington has vehemently denied the allegations.

The deputy speaker of parliament - Mr. Khan's supporter - justified his decision to block the vote on the grounds of "foreign interference".

However, the Supreme Court on Thursday found that Mr. Khan's move to block Sunday's no-confidence vote was "unconstitutional and had no legal effect".

The court also ruled that Mr. Khan's decision to dissolve parliament was wrong. Earlier, the country's election commission had said that immediate general elections would not be possible within 90 days.

The Supreme Court has now ordered the parliament to reconvene on Saturday to move the vote forward, which is expected to go against Mr. Khan.

In this scenario, the opposition parties are expected to appoint a new Prime Minister who will be in power by August 2023, at a time when new elections are needed.

Mr. Khan, a former star cricketer turned politician, came to power in 2018 on a platform to tackle corruption and corruption.

While it still has many supporters, it has lost some of its popularity amid rising living costs and other scandals - and lost its parliamentary majority last week.

Analysts also say that Mr. Khan may have lost the support of the military, which is a key supporter of any president.

The Supreme Court decision points to another chapter of the political crisis in Pakistan.

Due to various political scandals and power dramas by the military in the last decades, no Prime Minister of the country has completed his term.

Many military coups and the removal of democratically elected leaders have seen a Pakistan that has been under direct military rule for 33 of the 75 years, an independent country.

Pakistan court rules blocking vote to oust PM Imran Khan illegal

Imran Khan's Proxy Moves Pakistan Supreme Court To Bar No No-confidence motion against PM Imran Khan tabled in supreme court of Pakistan