A billboard with the picture of Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan display outside the National Assembly, in Islamabad, Pakistan, Sunday, April 3, 2022.
Highlights
- Imran Khan has alleged a 'foreign conspiracy' to oust his government
- He has urged people to protest against the foreign power that is interfering in Pak's sovereignty
- Khan's party PTI had in 2018 won the elections and formed government in the country
Pakistan's Supreme Court on Wednesday adjourned the hearing till tomorrow on the suo motu notice taken on the events of April 3 when Deputy Speaker Qasim Shah Suri of the National Assembly dismissed the no-confidence motion against the Imran Khan government and the subsequent dissolution of the NA by President Dr Alvi on the Premier's advice.
A five-member bench, headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Umar Ata Bandial and comprising Justice Ijazul Ahsan, Justice Mohammad Ali Mazhar, Justice Munib Akhtar and Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail, took up the case a little after noon. The court adjourned the proceedings till Thursday after hearing the arguments.
During Tuesday's hearing, the SC had said that the court would not interfere in matters of the state and foreign policy and would only determine the legality of the Deputy Speaker's ruling. Chief Justice Ata Bandial had said that all orders and actions initiated by the Prime Minister and the President regarding the dissolution of the National Assembly will be subject to the court's order.
Notably, Khan had named senior US diplomat Donald Lu as the person who was allegedly involved in the 'foreign conspiracy' to oust his government through a no-confidence vote tabled by the Opposition. Opposition leaders, however, have ridiculed Khan's allegation, and the US has dismissed these claims.
Meanwhile, President Arif Alvi has asked the Election Commission to start preparations for holding general elections in 90 days. President's direction came a day after the EC expressed its inability to hold elections in three months and that it needs at least six months to conduct the exercise.
In another related development, Khan has urged the public to protest against the foreign power that is interfering in Pakistan's sovereignty and indirectly compared the opposition parties to Mir Jafar and Mir Sadiq.
"The people are always the strongest defenders of a country's sovereignty & democracy. It is the people who must come out and defend against this latest and biggest assault on Pakistan's sovereignty and democracy by a foreign power thru local collaborators -- our Mir Jafar & Mir Sadiq," he tweeted.
Khan's party PTI had in the 2018 elections won 155 seats. Khan became the Prime Minister with the support of smaller parties.
Earlier in March 2021, opposition leader and former premier Yusuf Raza Gilani had defeated Pakistan's Finance Minister Abdul Hafeez Shaikh in Senate elections. But Khan managed to win the trust vote in National Assembly.
Exactly a year later (in March 2022), the Opposition leaders moved a no-confidence motion against Khan in the NA, accusing his government of failing to check inflation. Three allies of the PTI said that they have withdrawn their support leading to the collapse of the PTI government. The 342-member National Assembly's term was scheduled to end in August 2023.
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