Saturday, April 09, 2022

Pakistan Parliament Ousts Imran Khan as Prime Minister

THE NEW YORK TIMES: The country will now face early elections after days of brinkmanship in which Mr. Khan tried to dissolve Parliament to head off the no-confidence vote.

Imran Khan, center, last month during National Day in Islamabad. He was ousted as Pakistan’s prime minister on Saturday, losing a no-confidence vote in Parliament. | Anjum Naveed/Associated Press

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — Imran Khan, the former international cricket star turned politician who oversaw a new era of Pakistan’s foreign policy that distanced the country from the United States, was removed as prime minister early on Sunday after losing a no-confidence vote in Parliament.

The vote, coming amid soaring inflation and a rift between Mr. Khan’s government and the military, capped a political crisis that has embroiled the country for weeks and came down to the wire in a parliamentary session that dragged into the early morning hours. Pakistan remains in a state of turmoil as it heads into an early election season in the coming months.

Pakistan, a nuclear-armed nation with the world’s second-largest Muslim population, has struggled with instability and military coups since its founding 75 years ago. While no prime minister in Pakistan has ever completed a full five-year term in office, Mr. Khan is the first to be removed in a no-confidence vote.

The motion to oust Mr. Khan was passed with 174 votes, two more than the requisite simple majority. » | Christina Goldbaum and Salman Masood | Saturday, April 9, 2022