Pakistan's lawmakers voted against Prime Minister Imran Khan on Saturday, removing him from office in a no-confidence vote. Parliament must now elect his replacement and thus a new government.
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The no-confidence motion, which required 172 votes in the 342-seat Parliament to pass, was supported by 174 members after a nearly 14-hour standoff between the opposition and the premier's party.
The vote followed accusations against Khan related to his economic and political mismanagement, while opponents blamed him for failing to properly manage the economy and fight corruption.
In fact, the Pakistani incumbent became the third premier of the Asian country to face a no-confidence motion against him. However, he is the first to be ousted through such a mechanism.
The US-backed soft coup against Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan has succeeded
— Benjamin Norton (@BenjaminNorton) April 10, 2022
Washington helped organize a campaign pressuring opposition lawmakers to oust Khan with a no-confidence vote
It's very similar to the US-backed soft coup in Brazil in 2016 https://t.co/7vVi5sfKFO
The vote came after Pakistan's Supreme Court on Thursday overturned Khan's decision to dissolve parliament and call early elections, saying his decision was illegal and ordered to proceed with the move.
On Friday, the premier dismissed the no-confidence motion as part of a "conspiracy backed by outside powers" to oust him from the government, assuring that he would never tolerate “foreign interference” in Pakistan's internal affairs.
This article by a Pakistani scholar explains why the US supported the soft coup against Prime Minister Imran Khan:
— Benjamin Norton (@BenjaminNorton) April 10, 2022
He was very close to China, significantly improved relations with Russia & Iran, distanced from Saudi Arabia, & strongly supports Palestine https://t.co/wdIqWDlqss
In this context, Khan has time and again denounced that he is the target of a "U.S.-organized conspiracy". This is due to, he asserted, having an independent foreign policy, his lack of dependence and his rejection of the establishment of foreign bases on Pakistani territory; for which he branded the plan as the "biggest crime in history".
Imran Khan, 69, came to power in 2018, but recently lost his parliamentary majority when his allies resigned from his coalition government.