Supporters of the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), an alliance of political opposition parties, celebrate outside the parliament building after former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan lost a confidence vote in the lower house of parliament, in Islamabad (Reuters)Imran Khan No-Trust Vote Live Updates: Shehbaz Sharif, who is the PML-N president and younger brother of three-time prime minister Nawaz Sharif, on Sunday filed his nomination for the PM’s post ahead of prime minister’s election scheduled on Monday. Taking to Twitter, Sharif wrote, “Special thanks to media, civil society, lawyers, my Quaid Nawaz Sharif, Asif Zardari, Maulana Fazal-ur-Rehman, Bilawal Bhutto, Khalid Maqbool, Khalid Magsi, Mosin Dawar, Ali Wazir, Amir Haider Hoti & leaders & workers of all political parties for standing up for the Constitution!”
In his first comment after losing the no-trust vote, ousted PM Imran Khan on Sunday tweeted, “Pakistan became an independent state in 1947; but the freedom struggle begins again today against a foreign conspiracy of regime change. It is always the people of the country who defend their sovereignty & democracy.”
Meanwhile, Pakistan’s investigation agency FIA has put its immigration staff at all international airports on high alert with a directive to stop any government official linked to the Imran Khan regime from travelling abroad without a No-Objection Certificate, a media report said on Sunday.
Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan attends a military parade to mark Pakistan National Day, in Islamabad, Pakistan on March 23, 2022. (AP/PTI)
A top officer of Pakistan's top investigative agency who was probing the PKR 14 billion money laundering charges against the joint Opposition's prime ministerial candidate Shehbaz Sharif has gone on leave for indefinite period after Imran Khan was voted out in a no-confidence motion.
Federal Investigation Agency's Lahore chief Mohammad Rizwan's application to go on leave with effect from April 11, 2022, onward, has been accepted, according to an official notification on Sunday. Rizwan's decision came a day before Shehbaz and his son Hamza are to appear before a special court for indictment on Monday.
The special court (Central-I) of FIA on April 4 had summoned Shehbaz and Hamza on Monday (April 11) to indict the father and son duo in the Rs 14 billion money laundering case. Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) president Shehbaz is likely to seek exemption from appearance as he is to contest for the prime minister's office in Parliament the same day.
Shehbaz filed the nomination papers for the slot of the prime minister on Sunday. From Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI), former foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi is the candidate for the position. FIA officer Rizwan has reportedly said that he has gone on leave anticipating his "certain transfer". (PTI)
Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Ramiz Raja is considering resigning from his position in the wake of the ouster of Imran Khan as prime minister of the country, according to sources. Ramiz, who like Imran is also a former Pakistan captain, is presently in Dubai for the International Cricket Council (ICC) meetings which concluded on Sunday.
“Ramiz had only agreed to become the chairman of the Board on the insistence of Imran for whom all the players who played under his captaincy including Ramiz have a lot of regard and respect,” a source well aware of the developments said on Sunday. “Ramiz was well set in a career as commentator, TV personality and expert and was busy with assignments. But on Imran's insistence he agreed to put aside all his media contacts and become chairman of the board,” the source said.
“Ramiz had also made it clear to the PM that he would only remain in the Board until he (Imran Khan) was PM.”
The source said that with Imran now ousted as PM, who is also Patron-in-Chief of the Board and directly nominates the chairman for a formal election process, it is highly unlikely Ramiz would stay on unless the new Premier wants him to carry on with his job. (PTI)
Pakistan's media on Sunday welcomed the regime change in Islamabad, while expressing relief that a "catastrophic collision" between the pillars of the state has been averted as the minority government led by Imran Khan tried to cling on to power. Khan was ousted from power after losing a no-confidence vote in his leadership following days of high drama.
The vote was held past midnight after Khan's minority government tried its best to stall the no-trust motion tabled by the Opposition parties against the cricketer-turned-politician. "At one point late last night, it seemed as if all the pillars of the state were on course for a catastrophic collision. Calamity seemed ready to strike at the highest levels of the state," the Dawn newspaper said in an editorial. "Even with his ouster a near certainty, Mr Imran Khan seemed more than willing to turn a simple parliamentary procedure into a farce by forcing the heads of the judiciary and military, along with the entire legislature, to play along to the ‘last ball' of his tiresome ruse," it commented in an editorial titled 'Back to the pavilion.'
It also pointed out that the government of Khan became increasingly reliant on the establishment (the powerful military) for ‘guidance' in key decision-making areas. "This ultimately proved fatal for it when the establishment decided they would no longer be providing any crutches for the government to stand on," the editorial said. (PTI)
Imran Khan chaired a CEC meeting earlier today
PTI decides to submit en masse resignations in the National Assembly. Fawad Chaudry says party to launch movement against new government, reports Pakistan's Samaa. (ANI)
In his first comment after losing the no-trust vote, ousted PM Imran Khan tweets, “Pakistan became an independent state in 1947; but the freedom struggle begins again today against a foreign conspiracy of regime change. It is always the people of the country who defend their sovereignty & democracy.”
Pakistan's ousted prime minister Imran Khan will preside over a meeting of his party's core committee on Sunday to announce his party's next move after his unceremonious removal from office. Khan, 69, was removed from office through a no-confidence vote held early Sunday morning, becoming the first premier in the country's history to be sent home after losing the trust of the lower house of Parliament.
Taking to Twitter, Senator Faisal Javed Khan said, "Chairman Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Imran Khan will chair the core committee meeting of the party today insha'Allah." "Imran Khan will announce the future course of action." (PTI)
However, political uncertainties and prime ministers having abdicated their seats are not new to the country. Since Pakistan became an independent country in 1947, not one of its prime ministers has completed a full term in office and this has often been accentuated by the fact that the military has controlled the main levers of power, dominated foreign policy and dictated security priorities.
Here is a list of how Pakistan’s prime ministers fared in the last 75 years. Read more
Shehbaz Sharif doesn’t necessarily have the charisma that his brother Nawaz has or isn’t the crowd-puller that his niece Maryam is. Instead, his strength lies in his reputation as a competent administrator.
Born into wealth, Shehbaz embraced politics rather than his family business — much like his brother. The son of a wealthy industrialist, he studied at Government College Lahore and joined the family-owned Ittefaq Group that dealt in steel and iron. In 1990, when Nawaz won his first election as prime minister, Shehbaz was elected to the country’s general assembly. During his brother’s second term as prime minister in 1997, he became the chief minister of Punjab, Pakistan’s most populous and powerful province. Read explainer by Rounak Bagchi
Opposition parties have nominated PML-N leader Shehbaz Sharif as their PM candidate.
Hours after Prime Minister Imran Khan was ousted from power through a no-confidence motion in the National Assembly on Sunday, his close aide's house here was raided and his family's mobile phones were confiscated, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf has alleged. Dr Arsalan Khalid had worked as the focal person for Khan on the digital media team since 2019.
"Ex Focal person on PM Imran Khan on Digital, Dr Arsalan Khalid's home has been raided and they have taken all phones from his family," Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) said on Twitter. "He has never abused anyone on social media & never attacked any institutions,” another tweet said.
The party has urged the Federal Investigation Agency to investigate this incident. Khalid is a graduate of King Edward Medical University and an entrepreneur, and had earlier led the PTI Lahore chapter social media, according to Geo TV report.
He had spearheaded the social media campaigns for multiple historic events, including the Digital Media Campaign for General Election 2018, the report added. Former federal minister and PTI leader Asad Umar reacted to the incident, saying that the raid on Khalid's house is "highly condemnable." "Raid on @arslankhalid_m house is highly condemnable. Patriotic youth like dr. Arslan is an asset for the nation," Umar tweeted. (PTI)
As the people of Pakistan woke up to a new dawn on Sunday, the details of the gruelling and murky political activities in the preceding day and night have emerged, showing the country may have averted a damning showdown between ousted prime minister Imran Khan and the powerful Army.
According to various media reports, Khan made a botched attempt to replace Pakistan Army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa in order to bring someone more pliant and sympathetic to his idea of "foreign conspiracy" and cling on to power. BBC Urdu reported that a helicopter carrying "two uninvited guest" landed in the Prime Minister's House in the night and were escorted by Army soldiers to the interior of the palatial building.
They two met alone for 45 minutes with Khan. No details were officially provided about the meeting but it was not held in a cordial atmosphere, the report said. (PTI)
Pakistan's premier investigation agency FIA has put its immigration staff at all international airports on high alert with a directive to stop any government official linked to the Imran Khan regime from travelling abroad without a No-Objection Certificate, a media report said on Sunday.
The move came hours after Prime Minister Imran Khan was ousted through a no-confidence motion in the National Assembly, the lower house of Parliament, the Dawn news reported.
The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA)'s immigration staff at all international airports of the country was placed on high alert and directed to stop all those government officials who intend to travel abroad without an NOC, it said. (PTI)
Candidates for Pakistan's next prime minister are due to file nomination papers on Sunday after incumbent Imran Khan lost a no-confidence vote in parliament, bringing an end to the former cricket star's nearly four years in power.
Khan had clung on for almost a week after a united opposition first tried to remove him, managing to put off the no-confidence vote, which he said was part of a foreign-backed plot against him, and dissolving parliament.
But the Supreme Court ordered parliament to convene and hold the vote and Khan's government fell in the early hours of Sunday after a 13-hour session that included repeated delays and lengthy speeches by lawmakers from his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party.
The vote went ahead after the powerful army chief, General Qamar Javed Bajwa, met Khan, said two sources who declined to be identified, as criticism mounted over the delay in the parliamentary process. (Reuters)
In Pakistan’s first successful no-trust vote, cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khanwas on Saturday removed as the country’s Prime Minister after the motion received the support of 174 members in the 342-member assembly.
The voting took place 10 minutes ahead of the midnight deadline, after Lower House speaker and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party member Asad Qaisar announced his resignation, handing over the charge to PML-N leader Ayaz Sadiq. The Pakistan Assembly is slated to meet at 2 pm on Monday to elect a new prime minister.
Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) chief Shehbaz Sharif, who has already been named by the opposition as a joint candidate for the new prime minister, said the “new regime will not indulge in politics of revenge”. “Pakistan is now on the track of honesty and legality again…We are looking at a bright future where we won’t be vengeful and jail anyone who’s innocent,” he said.
Sharif told The Guardian that they would prioritise electoral reform, with a view to holding a general election “in due course”. “The country is in all sorts of mess, thanks to the epic mismanagement of the Imran Khan government. From paralysed bureaucracy to the foreign policy challenges to the broken economy, chaos is reigning supreme,” he added. In a tweet in Urdu, he wrote that Pakistan was “freed from a serious crisis” and congratulated the country on a “new dawn”. Read more.
Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan was removed from office an hour past midnight on Sunday in a no-confidence vote that saw 174 members in the 342-strong house voting in favour of the motion. Take a look.
Imran Khan vacated the Prime Minister’s official residence minutes before he lost a crucial no-confidence vote in the National Assembly, a senior leader from his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party said on Sunday.
After Speaker Asad Qaiser handed over the reins to Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s Ayaz Sadiq of the National Assembly, it became clear that the vote on the no-confidence motion would go ahead in the lower house.
The Opposition’s no-trust motion against Khan succeeded an hour past midnight on Sunday, with 174 members in the 342-strong house voting in favour of the motion. It meant that the 69-year-old cricketer-turned-politician would have to leave the Prime Minister’s Office. Read more.
Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan was ousted on Sunday when he lost a vote of confidence in parliament, after being deserted by coalition partners who blame him for a crumbling economy and failure to deliver on his campaign promises.
The result of the vote, which was the culmination of a 13-hour session that included repeated delays, was announced just before 0100 (2000 GMT on Saturday) by the presiding speaker of parliament's lower house, Ayaz Sadiq.
Khan, 69 was ousted after 3-1/2 years as leader of the nuclear-armed country of 220 million, where the military has ruled for nearly half its nearly 75-year history.
Parliament will meet on Monday to elect a new prime minister.
Sunday's vote followed multiple adjournments in the chamber, called due to lengthy speeches by members of Khan's party, who said there was a US conspiracy to oust the cricket star-turned-politician.
Opposition parties were able to secure 174 votes in the 342-member house in support of the no-confidence motion, Sadiq said, making it a majority vote. (Reuters)
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