Imran Khan Seeks No-Confidence Vote Against Pakistan PM Shehbaz Sharif
© AFP 2023 ARIF ALI
Subscribe
Ousted Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan and the incumbent PM Shehbaz Sharif have been at odds with each other since the former lost power in April last year.
In his latest attack on Shehbaz Sharif, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan has threatened the current prime minister with a fresh vote of confidence.
"Shehbaz Sharif tested us in Punjab and now it's his turn to prove whether he enjoys a majority in the National Assembly or not. In the first, Shehbaz will be tested for a trust vote... and later we have other plans for him," the cricketer-turned-politician said in an interview Saturday.
Khan stated that President Dr. Arif Alvi will soon demand that Sharif prove his majority in the National Assembly (NA). Notably, Alvi is a member of Khan's party.
The 70-year-old politician's comments come at a time when trouble is brewing in the Sharif-led coalition. The federal coalition, which has an extremely thin majority in the South Asian country's legislature, has been marred by differences among constituents.
The Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P), a key ally of PM Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League (N), has threatened to exit the coalition over the matter of local body elections in Hyderabad and Karachi.
According to an announcement by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), local government polls are currently underway in the nation.
Earlier, senior MQM-P politician Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui warned that his party would leave the Sharif government if the elections were held without a delimitation exercise.
With seven members in Pakistan's National Assembly, MQM-P holds the key to power in Islamabad. If it chooses to resign from the coalition, the Sharif government will be in minority, forcing fresh elections in the South Asian country.
For a long time, Khan has been demanding fresh elections in the country and if the Sharif government falls, his long-desired wish would be fulfilled.
The 70-year-old politician's comments come at a time when trouble is brewing in the Sharif-led coalition. The federal coalition, which has an extremely thin majority in the South Asian country's legislature, has been marred by differences among constituents.
The Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P), a key ally of PM Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League (N), has threatened to exit the coalition over the matter of local body elections in Hyderabad and Karachi.
According to an announcement by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), local government polls are currently underway in the nation.
Earlier, senior MQM-P politician Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui warned that his party would leave the Sharif government if the elections were held without a delimitation exercise.
With seven members in Pakistan's National Assembly, MQM-P holds the key to power in Islamabad. If it chooses to resign from the coalition, the Sharif government will be in minority, forcing fresh elections in the South Asian country.
For a long time, Khan has been demanding fresh elections in the country and if the Sharif government falls, his long-desired wish would be fulfilled.
